A PROPOSAL to divert hundreds of buses and coaches along narrow streets could bring the east side of Oxford to a standstill, residents have said.

Oxfordshire County Council said road repairs on St Clement's and Cowley Road were "absolutely necessary" and people would have to put up with "short-term pain for long-term gain".

Work began yesterday on Magdalen Bridge, but other repairs from Monday, August 13, will see St Clement's blocked off at The Plain.

A series of closures at The Plain entrances to Cowley Road and Iffley Road will then take place, prompting other diversions.

Homeowners living in the area think diverting bus and coach traffic onto streets next to St Clement's, Cowley Road and Iffley Road will spark chaos.

Meanwhile, car users will have to endure even bigger diversions along Marston Ferry Road or The Slade while the work is carried out.

Ashley Hurden, 50, who lives on Jeune Street, off St Clement's, is so concerned about the roadworks he is planning to go on holiday to avoid them.

He said: "I appreciate that the work needs to be done, but the diversions and the way the load is focused on Jeune Street and Union Street will be catastrophic.

"Jeune Street is not a road that has been created to cope with thousands of buses in three weeks and if there is a hot spell the road will quite likely break up.

"What really concerns me is that we found out about this by accident and when we tried to consult with the county council they seemed unwilling to pressure the bus companies to look at alternative routes.

"There isn't a single solution, but by spreading the load across several streets bus customers can still get a reliable service without putting the complete burden on Jeune Street and Union Street.

Nick Kenworthy Browne, 35, who also lives on Jeune Street and works from home as a freelance composer, added: "This doesn't make any sense. They are potentially repairing one road and wrecking another.

"I am expecting to repair a whole load of cracks on my house when all this has finished because our houses rattle."

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Paul Smith said there was no ideal solution and that the proposed diversions were based on those used for previous roadworks in 2001.

Ian Hudspeth, cabinet member for transport, said: "The High Street, Plain Roundabout and St Clement's are worn out. We are repairing them so that no further work will be needed for many years to come.

"Such work is always disruptive in the short term, but there is a real long-term gain. You only have to look at the Abingdon Road and Headington 'hamburger' roundabouts as examples of schemes that caused inconvenience while under way, but were successes when complete.

"There will always be people who say that there is a better way of managing things."

In addition to local buses, Oxford Bus Company runs three 24-hour coach services along St Clement's - The Oxford Express to London and the Airline to Heathrow and Gatwick.

Oxford Bus Company spokesman Phil Ashworth said the company was in discussion with Oxfordshire County Council about possible diversion routes.

He added: "We are aware of the fact that you would need the wisdom of Soloman to introduce a system that would please everyone."

Three Stagecoach buses also go along St Clement's, with an average of 12 buses an hour travelling along the road.

Stagecoach spokesman Chris Child said: "We understand that residents of Jeune Street and Union Street are unhappy about the proposed diversion and we have some sympathy.

"However, we need to consider the needs of the thousands of people who rely on the Oxfordshire bus network to get to work, school and shop.

"We would like to reassure our passengers that wherever possible we will run extra buses to ensure that disruption and delays are kept to a minimum."