Broad Street in Oxford will not be closed to traffic as part of a European Car Free Day, county councillors have agreed.

A proposal was put forward by Oxford's Green Party and the city's Pedestrians' Association that the street should be closed on Sunday, September 22.

But at a council meeting earlier this month, councillors voted against the plan, and yesterday executive board members suggested an alternative.

Preparations will be made instead for a Celebrate Our City Day in Oxford on May 1 next year, when May Morning celebrations are held at Magdalen Bridge.

The theme of a day celebrating Oxford would be the promotion of the city's shops, pubs, restaurants and cultural organisations, and could include the closure of Broad Street. The event would be organised in partnership with the city council and retail, cultural and environ- mental groups, including the Pedestrians' Association.

The association's Corrinne Grimley-Evans told councillors that as September 22 was a Sunday, the Covered Market, which is not open on Sundays, would be unaffected, and that a Car Free Day would enhance quality of life in the city and support the aims of the Oxford Transport Strategy.

But leader of the council, Cllr Keith Mitchell, said that although he had tentatively welcomed the closure of Broad Street for one day, the issue had since been hijacked by political groups in the run-up to the local elections.

He added: "I was also given a steer that there would be cost implications involved in closing the road.

"I can no longer support the Car Free Day, but I welcome the idea of celebrating the city on May 1 next year."