BUSES will return to Queen Street later this month after the Government intervened to settle the long-running dispute in time for the opening of the Westgate Centre.

Oxfordshire County Council and the city's two major bus operators Stagecoach and Oxford Bus Company had been unable to resolve their differences over pedestrianising the street.

The council, whose officers were concerned about pedestrian safety, wanted to press ahead with an experimental ban on buses but the Department for Transport has advised the street remains open while the situation is monitored.

Centre bosses had wanted the road kept free of traffic to create an open space outside the entrance.

On the opening day of the £440m centre, buses will be running through the street at a reduced number - 29 per hour compared to the 55 before construction work started.

The Secretary of State could still decide the street should be closed in the long term but has yet to make a ruling.

Bus companies and transport campaign groups, who feared the closure would cause chaos across the city, welcomed the move.

Oxford Bus Company managing director, Phil Southall, said: "This is a positive and welcome step forward for the city and the people we serve.

"A period of monitoring with significantly less buses in Queen Street is a sensible move and we look forward to examining the findings furthers in the future."

His sentiments were echoed by Stagecoach's MD Martin Sutton who said it could now plan ahead and give passengers clear information in advance of the opening.

But Oxford City Council said it was 'disappointed' and raised safety concerns.

Board member for planning Alex Hollingsworth said: "The City Council believes that for reasons of safety and convenience for pedestrians in this busy area Queen Street should be traffic-free by the time Westgate opens, so this is disappointing news.

"However, we are pleased to see a significant reduction in the number of buses in Queen Street, and will work with our partners in the County Council and the bus companies to monitor the situation closely."

Oxford Pedestrians Association said it was never able to support the pedestrianisation and common sense had finally prevailed.

Chairwoman Sushila Dhall said: "It's a sad day when we can't support a pedestrianisation plan but we couldn't support it in Queen Street because of the increased pressure on St Aldate's and the high level of pollution it would bring.

"So long as the buses drive slowly and sensibly - as drivers always have down the street - then it will work.

"It is the right decision as closing Queen Street would have led to a tremendous snarl up in other parts of the city."

Oxford Civic Society, which objected to the closure, also welcomed the move but said a permanent solution must be based on a wider strategy for the city.

Dr Andrew Pritchard, from the society's transport group said: "At least we have a temporary solution moving forward and we should get some useful information about bus movements and pedestrians once the centre open.

He added: "I don't understand why the Westgate feels the need to have Queen Street pedestrianised.

"If it actually makes it slower to get into Oxford it might make people decide not to come into the city and to shop elsewhere.

"When there were 55 buses an hour that wasn't actually a major problem - people knew there were going to buses in the street and drivers rarely went faster than walking speed."

The bus stop outside Bonn Square will be removed and taxis and private hire vehicles will remain banned from the street.

The Westgate's development manager Sara Fuge hoped people wouldn't be put off by competing with buses.

She said: "We look forward to a clear outcome on the pedestrianisation of Queen Street in due course.

"We hope that buses on Queen Street won't deter new visitors to Westgate from venturing into the rest of the city."

The county council's cabinet member for transport, Yvonne Constance, said: "Clearly the county council wanted Queen Street to be pedestrianised when the centre opened, but the main thing now is that everyone is getting behind what is actually going to happen to make it work.

"Our view was that it was best to collect data on pedestrian numbers and bus journey times during an experimental closure, but we accept the Department for Transport’s request to do this with Queen Street open to buses."