Driving along the Botley Road on Sunday morning, I noted that fast work was being made of the demolition of the old Halfords store in preparation for construction of the Waitrose supermarket that is coming on the site. There was plenty of time to observe the operation as it took me 15 minutes to crawl past on this ever-congested road.

The absurdity of importing another traffic-generating business along what is already Oxford’s busiest route ought to have been apparent to the city planners. But I gather their hands were tied by the site’s existing consent for commercial use.

A number of my neighbours have welcomed the prospect of this highly regarded, if rather expensive, food retailer arriving on our doorsteps.

Now that this is a matter settled, I have come to share their enthusiasm. Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to walk to Waitrose are in for a special treat.

With Botley Road so permanently traffic-clogged, people will give up trying to drive there, and we shall have the place to ourselves.