RESIDENTS of North Hinksey and Botley are set to benefit from a 50-point action plan to improve the area over the next 15 years.

The organisers of the North Hinksey Parish Plan, which also covers Botley, have spent the past four years finding out what changes people would like to see in the two communities.

The reponses have helped to shape the plan, which they hope to see put into action in the period up to 2025.

Among the ideas it contains are a call for cheaper bus fares into Oxford to get people out of their cars and on to buses, to cut congestion in Botley Road.

The team also wants to provide a community centre for Botley, with a cafe and gym, and a youth club to offer young people somewhere to go, which they hope will cut incidents of vandalism and graffiti.

Jenny Barker, chairman of the North Hinksey Parish Plan committee, said: “The action points have come from the suggestions of residents and what they want to see changed here.

“I think this now provides a clear blueprint for how we can make North Hinksey and Botley a better place.

“These are things that can make a real difference to people and improve the lives of residents in the parish.

“Graffiti is a problem here on public and private buildings. We need to give the teenagers something to do at night.”

Plan secretary Andrew Pritchard said there were graffiti hotspots at bus stops, the subway under the A34 and the sports pavilion at the upper section of the Louis Memorial Playing Fields.

The 70-year-old, who lives in Laburnum Road, said: “The problem with graffiti isn’t the worst in Oxford but graffiti of any sort brings down an area.

“We know from research that graffiti leads to a general decrease in public behaviour and an increase in petty crime.”

Mr Pritchard has also written to the Oxford Bus Company requesting a review of fares on the firm’s No 4 services, which link Botley with the city centre.

He said: “Many people felt the single fare to town and the railway station was very high for the distance travelled and encouraged people to use cars instead.”

They are charged £1.80 for a single fare for the 1.4-mile journey from Elms Parade to the station and the 1.8-mile journey to the city centre.

Louisa Weeks, the company’s operations director, said the fares matched those on other city routes.

She added: “We’re pleased the North Hinksey plan is keen to promote the use of buses but we feel the existing fare structure represents good value for money.”