At long last, the planning application for the redevelopment of the Westgate area in Oxford has gone to Oxford City Council. It has been a long time coming, and, judging by the van that was needed to transport all the documentation, it will take the city council a little while longer to process it.

To be fair, the process so far has been very good. There has been lots of consultation with most groups who have an interest in the plans. That should help to keep the planning application on track.

The image we publish on the front page of this week's newspaper is a rosy one as is the case with all images drawn to promote a proposed development.

The first thing we noticed in our office was the lack of buses. Indeed, it appeared to us that buses would not be able to cross the paved area in front of a revitalised Bonn Square.

Of course, as we all know, getting the buses out of Queen Street remains an aspiration of the city and county councils and is by no means a done deal.

While the submission of the Westgate application was this week's or even this year's most significant event, the approval of the planning application for the redesign of Bonn Square is of great moment too.

In a way, it too is part of the Westgate redevelopment as the developers themselves have conceded by including the design of their own artist's impression of the front of the new Westgate.

Bonn Square and the front of the Westgate will only be complete, however, when the buses are gone.