A COUNCIL leaflet being sent to residents to explain why Walton Street has been closed to traffic is being printed again because the first version was incorrect.

The county council shut the route at its junction with Worcester Street and Beaumont Street last year after roadworks were completed.

It is now consulting the public on whether the closure should be permanent.

However, a leaflet issued to some residents is being produced again because a key date in it was incorrect.

READ AGAIN: Walton Street closure is hitting trade claims restaurant

The leaflet said a decision on whether to make the closure permanent would be made before May 2020 when the date should have said before May 2021.

The error came as Anne Mobbs, who represents the Alive and Kicking 50+ Group in Jericho accused the council of creating a 'mini-Brexit'.

She said: "Feelings are running very high locally.

Oxford Mail:

"There is a great deal of anger at the high-handed fashion in which the county council has taken the decision to erect this barrier."

READ AGAIN: Residents are divided on closure of Walton Street

Council spokesman Martin Crabtree said: "We have produced a two-sided A4 flyer which explains the reasons for the experimental closure of Walton Street and gives a timeline for making a decision on whether to make the closure permanent or not.

" One of the dates in the timeline was wrong and distribution of the flyer has stopped.

"The cost of printing the flyer was £228 for 4,200 and we expect the revised version will cost the same.

"We don’t have an exact number for those distributed but will ensure that everyone in the area will receive a copy of the new version."

Oxford Mail:

An email issued to councillors by transport planners said: "It has been brought to our attention that there is a small but significant print error on the leaflets which have been prepared on Walton Street. On the ‘Key Dates’ timeline the date attributed to ‘Decision on whether to make the closure permanent.’ states ‘Before May 2020’ - this should in fact read ‘Before May 2021’.

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"We have taken the decision to pull distribution of the leaflet that was taking place to rectify this error with a view to redistributing an amended version of the leaflet.

"For your awareness a small number of leaflets have already been distributed to properties across the area."

County councillor John Howson said the error was disappointing, particularly for the residents of St Bernard's Road 'bearing the brunt of extra traffic'.

The closure has split opinion with the Jericho Connections group lobbying for the road to be reopened while the Don't Choke Jericho group said it should remain closed.

Oxford Mail:

Italian restaurant Branca has come forward to say the closure is damaging trade in the street.

Jericho Connections has issued an email to all Walton Street traders asking them to fill in a business survey which will be part of a report to be handed to the council.

The email said some shops were experiencing a drop in turnover of over 20 per cent year on year as a direct result of the closure.

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The email added that ‘data’ from traders’ responses would be passed to the council for a report it is to compile.