Plans to ease traffic congestion in Witney are being threatened by delays and a lack of funding.

Oxfordshire County Council's executive member for transport, David Robertson, said there was no fixed timetable for road development in the town.

He added: "I would say that 2010 is not too far away from the time we're looking at for a completion date."

Plans to develop both the Cogges Link Road and West End Link Road now face delays, while a shelved proposal to create the Newland Link Road could be revived.

The cost of creating the West End Link Road, connecting Burford and Hailey roads, has been estimated at £8m.

But the prospect of raising the money is dependent on the location -- either in the north or the west of the town -- of Witney's next phase of housing.

West Oxfordshire District Council's traffic advisory committee chairman, Steve Hayward, said: "The town has always seemed to be a backwater to the county council.

"We need to know exactly what roads, if any, are going to be built."