PLANNED improvements to Witney’s “most dangerous” junction could be scrapped, the Oxford Mail has learned.

More than nine months ago, budget superstore Lidl opened next to McDonald’s in Ducklington Lane.

As part of a planning agreement with West Oxfordshire District Council, Lidl gave £50,000 to Oxfordshire County Council towards improvements at the junction of Ducklington Lane and Station Lane.

Almost three years ago, 13-year-old Henry Box School pupil Andrew Edwards was killed as he crossed the road close to the junction to buy sweets from a nearby petrol station.

But the improvements have still not started, despite increased traffic from the supermarket and nearby industrial estates.

The county council said that the roadworks were under review, following the news of Government cutbacks.

As reported in the Oxford Mail, County Hall has ordered a review of every single project in its £500m five-year capital programme.

Cornelius Cavendish cycles each day from his home in Ducklington to work in Witney.

He said about the junction: “You see a car stationary, there’s a gap and you think it’s safe, and then suddenly a car comes out fast.

“It is a dangerous crossing.”

David Condon, of Witney First, said: “It seems to me that the most dangerous junction in Witney ought to be worked on now.”

Stephen Harness, 42, of The Springs, Witney, added: “I think it’s just a matter of time before somebody is injured at that junction. If I am crossing to Focus, I literally have to run across, as you never quite know what the traffic lights are doing.

“They should have planned the improvements for when Lidl opened. They should be spending the money now.”

A County Hall spokesman said designs were being drawn up for improvements to the junction and would be published for public consultation later in the year.

But he warned that the scheme itself was “under review” and could be scrapped.

The work is listed as part of County Hall’s Witney Integrated Transport Strategy which includes the Cogges Link Road, a £16.4m scheme the county council agreed in February.

The road, which is seen as a solution to the town’s Bridge Street bottleneck, has been part of West Oxfordshire District Council’s Local Plan since 1987.

Opponents of the link road scheme hope to get Town Green status for some of the land, effectively stopping the scheme in its tracks. A public inquiry is set to start on Thursday, June 24, at 10am in Methodist Hall, High Street, Witney.

South Leigh farmer James Mawle said: “All the resources of County Highways has been diverted solely to the Cogges Link Road.

“It’s political – because they have been trying to get the road for 20 years.

“They don’t want to change the Ducklington Road/ Station Lane junction before they have got the Cogges Link Road in.”