Ruth and Neil Cameron have written a letter describing the ongoing closure of Botley Road in Oxford as 'inhuman'.

Like all our friends and neighbours (who had been counting the days until October 23),  we are appalled at the abrupt extension of the Botley Road closure to a continuous one which heartlessly makes no allowance for the inconvenience and suffering to everyone living here. 

We are not exaggerating when we call this decision inhuman.  Undoubtedly none of the decision-makers lives in Botley.

READ MORE: Electric bike rider seriously injured in crash

This is what the public wants and needs to hear, instead of soothing apologies:

Who actually is in charge of this project?  Who is paying for this (and obviously saving money at our expense)? 

Oxford Mail: Roadworks in Botley RoadWhat sort of inept planning has meant that the extent of the infamous Victorian underground arch has come as a surprise to Kier, Network Rail's chosen construction company, theoretically warranting four further months of untold misery? Why isn't Kier increasing its workforce in order to adhere to the original timing, inconvenient enough as that was?

READ MORE: Victorian mansion will be transformed into student rooms 

If Kier and Network Rail are as interested in our welfare as their publicity would have us believe, they would structure the area where the buses turn around to make it safe and feasible for us humans to dismount at the shortest distance possible from the buses in front of the Station.  Instead, we have literally been dumped.

We smell mediocrity, cost-cutting and a total lack of consideration for the humanity of the public this project is meant to serve.  Anything is possible if you are willing to pay for it.

Ruth and Neil Cameron

Botley

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe 

As a digital subscriber you will get: 

  • Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website 
  • Advert-light access 
  • Reader rewards 
  • Full access to our app 

About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.