MP candidate Layla Moran has called for the creation of a Strategic Coordination Group of all the agencies involved in Oxfordshire’s transport network.

The Liberal Democrat, who is looking to retain the Oxford West and Abingdon in the upcoming general election, said she has been calling for the creation of the strategic transport group "for some time" so transport agencies could communicate and work together in a better way.

And she pledged to push for improved transport links if she is re-elected as MP after the July 4 election.

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The county council, the local authority in charge of highways, declined to comment.

Problems Ms Moran has highlighted include emergency closures of the A34 last summer, resulting in diversions through Wolvercote and Wytham, with teenagers stepping in to act as traffic marshals.

Work at the Botley Interchange resulted in hour-long delays at the end of last year.

Oxford Mail: Network Rail work in Botley RoadAnd residents have also been frustrated by the ongoing closure of Botley Road, due to a £161m Network Rail station improvement scheme which is taking 18 months to complete. The road is due to reopen at the end of October.

Contractors for the rail authority are working outside the Westgate Hotel in Botley Road, and in Frideswide Square to dig trenches for new utility pipes and cables, and for the installation of a water main.

Ms Moran said: "The levels of disruption we have seen on Oxfordshire’s roads are unacceptable and residents in and around Oxford deserve better. 

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“Roadworks often involve a complex array of organisations, with National Highways, utility companies, and the local authorities all owning different pieces of the puzzle.

“But it is unacceptable that local residents are left in the lurch while utility companies, sub-contractors, arms-length bodies and government look to place blame on one another and refuse to take responsibility when things go wrong.

“That’s why I have been calling for some time for the creation of a Strategic Coordination Group to enable all agencies involved in our roads network to better communicate and work together when necessary works take place.

Oxford Mail: Andy Jones outside the Westgate Hotel"If elected as MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, I will continue to fight for faster, safer, healthier journeys across Oxfordshire.”

Andy Jones, the manager at the Westgate Hotel, said Network Rail drilling work on the Sunday before the Bank Holiday disturbed guests.

He added: "The noise comes and goes but on the Sunday before the bank holiday it was very loud, and sometimes you can feel the vibrations when you are in the hotel.

"I do believe the transport agencies and local authorities do work together anyway - the Botley Road is due to reopen in October so I think it's too little too late to be calling for a new highways group now."

Network Rail would not comment on Ms Moran's proposals.

The candidates for the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency are Conservatives, Vinay Raniga; Labour, Stephen Webb; Liberal Democrats, Layla Moran; Green, Cheryl Briggs; Reform UK, James Gunn.

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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.