NEW plans to turn part of the A40 between Oxford and Witney into a dual carriageway with separate bus lanes to tackle traffic would be "absolutely brilliant" if the idea worked, say West Oxfordshire officials.

Yesterday's Oxford Mail front page revealed the £54m scheme would feature extra lanes on the road between Witney and Eynsham as well as a westbound bus lane from Oxford to Eynsham.

Oxfordshire County Council's proposal on Monday, which would see work start sometime in the early 2020s, would combine with previously agreed plans to build a park-and-ride at Eynsham and an eastbound bus lane from Eynsham to Oxford.

Mayor of Witney Chris Holliday said of the plans: "Everybody in Witney wants something doing with the A40. Any proposal that goes through, if it works, has got to be good.

"So if this works then it works. It will be absolutely brilliant for Witney."

The A40 is used by up to 30,000 vehicles every day and according to previous figures from the county council, 91 per cent of eastbound users in the morning rush hour came from West Oxfordshire and 72 per cent were travelling into the city.

Edward James, district councillor for Eynsham and Cassington, who also lives in Eynsham, said his main concern was the park- and-ride.

He said: "If there's a park-and-ride where you have to pay, or a big village next door with free parking, which are you going to choose?

"And I would not travel from somewhere like Carterton to Eynsham to then hop on a bus. But there are others who might."

County officials say journey times between Witney and Oxford would be cut with the new A40 plans and businesses would be more likely to create new jobs in West Oxfordshire.

But chairman of Witney and District Chamber of Commerce Lesley Semaine said there had never been any problem with new businesses coming to the district.

The landlady of the Royal Oak pub in Witney praised the plans for the A40 however, and said it would be a "big bonus" for the area.

Witney Oxford Transport Group officer Maurizio Fantato disagreed and said the county council's proposals were not appropriate and that the authority should have backed a £285million rail link between Oxford and Witney.

He said: "We do not know if dualling the section of road between Eynsham and Witney will really reduce congestion because you are just moving a bottleneck further up the road."

Witney mayor Mr Holliday added: "It does worry me that if this doesn't go far enough then people will still get stuck at the roundabout at Eynsham.

"And if this bus lane doesn’t take people near their work then they are not going to use it."

If councillors back the scheme the county council will submit a bid to the government to secure funding.