PLANS to create a mini-public square on a closed-off side street in East Oxford are finally set to go-ahead after £19,000 of council cash was released for the scheme.

Restaurateur Clinton Pugh hopes to start work on the Dawson Street project in the next couple of months after Oxford City Council gave the go-ahead.

He says drinkers will be able to enjoy Mediterranean-style street cafe culture in Cowley Road with Mr Pugh also putting in up to £50,000 to finish the square by next spring.

Plans to rejuvenate the area were put on hold for more than two years while the Dawson Trust charity built a three-storey building next to the site.

And they were delayed further last year when the city council put in place a spending freeze, lifted last month.

Mr Pugh now plans to raise the road height of Dawson Street to kerb level to create a square with space for outdoor seating for Mr Pugh’s two adjacent businesses, Cafe Coco and Kazbar.

The revamp will also feature benches and an avenue of six Italian oak trees.

He also plans to create two new shops, a deli and a shop selling work by artists and jewellery makers.

He said: “It’s been a long-term goal to improve the area since the idea of a public square was first proposed.

“I have got two units behind it I want to rent out and turn it into a small Camden-style market.

“I want it to become the gateway to the Cowley Road, a nice tidy place where people want to come and visit.

“If you want a place to become more Bohemian you have to do things like this. The grant is extremely helpful because in current times money is tight.”

It is hoped the square could become a much needed boost for local businesses after traders said plans to build 141 student flats on St Clement’s car park could turn the area into a “ghost town”.

The grant was made by the council’s East Area Parliament.

City councillor for St Clement’s Nuala Young: “This will be a nice little refuge for that part of East Oxford.

“We have been very clear all along that we want to be absolutely fair.

“We welcome Clint having outdoor seats and a continental-style cafe but we also want a place where the public can come and sit and relax without having to buy anything. It’s wonderful Clint’s willing to put his money into it.”

Dawson Street was first considered as a location for a public open space in 2005 after Oxfordshire County Council agreed to close the road, which links Cowley Road and St Clement’s Street to traffic.