The footpath closures have understandably caused distress to many villagers.
However, these proposals were included in the various consultation phases and presentations which EWR has made to the village over the years.
Unfortunately, the footpaths over the railway were always going to have to be closed to ensure the safety of both the public and the workforce. There will be a great deal of construction work taking place on the line bed and the haul road which will be dangerous for members of the public.
Pedestrian access through the site on days when there was no work would create an unsecure site.
While it is regrettable that villagers will lose the enjoyment of being able to walk to the north west from the village for the time being, once the work is complete, the Parish has been assured that at least one crossing will be available and that the footpaths will be re-routed (with the agreement of the land owners and the OCC Footpaths team) to accommodate the changes.
The maps show the current paths and their closures (sorry, you’ll need to rotate them in your browser):
This PDF map is of the area crossing Charbridge Lane into Bicester
and this PDF map shows the closures in Launton
For information, the red lines show the temporary closure, the blue lines are the temporary diversion and the pink are the existing public rights of way.
We hope to have a map of how the footpaths will look once the project is complete in due course.