Work is set to start on a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Thames.

The new pedestrian and cycle bridge will stretch from Oxpens Meadow to Grandpont Nature Park.

It will serve as a vital link for local people, offering quick and safe walking and cycling routes, helping to reduce congestion in and around Oxford city centre, said the city council.  

It will also form a connection between the Osney Mead and Oxpens developments which will be delivered in the coming years.

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The city council and Nuffield College plan to redevelop Oxpens while Oxford University plans to regenerate Osney Mead.

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Both projects are set to bring thousands of jobs and new homes to the city.

Oxford councillors approved plans for the bridge in March despite protests at the council meeting from environmental campaigners who said the bridge would destroy part of Grandpont Nature Park.

Preparatory works, including pollarding and removal of selected trees, was undertaken in February 2024 ahead of bird-nesting season.

A commitment has been given to replant trees in the area to mitigate for the loss.

But 16 councillors agreed with the campaigners and said they wanted the decision reviewed.

The council's planning review committee approved it again in April.

The bridge is a requirement of the Oxford Local Plan to support the wider regeneration of the West End of the city.  

Oxford City Council ran a consultation in summer 2022 over what people want from the new bridge which it had been wanting to build since 2020.

The bridge's slender design by award-winning bridge designers Knight Architects, "aims to preserve and enhance the current views of the river and meadow".

Oxfordshire County Council has given notice it intends to close footpaths near the site from June 3 for construction works. 

 The alternative route will be signed via Grandpont Nature Park and adjacent to Castle Mill Stream, along footway of the A420, and on the existing footpath adjacent to Oxford Ice Rink.

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Funding for the project comes from the Oxfordshire Growth Deal, and a requirement is that all bridge construction work is to be completed by March 31 2025. 

Meanwhile Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, has submitted the Oxpens River Thames Pedestrian/Cycle Bridge scheme to the Secretary of State for Transport for approval as it has to do for any new structure over navigable waterways. 

If, following consultation, the Secretary of State confirms the scheme it will progress onwards towards delivery. 

This is a separate process to the planning application process which was approved by the city council.