Coronavirus: Oxford City Council stops building work on most projects

The council said work on the £100m Blackbird Leys redevelopment would be amongst the projects stopped

The "vast majority" of work on Oxford City Council's building projects has been stopped because of coronavirus.

This includes the £100m redevelopment of Blackbird Leys and the £5.2m expansion of Seacourt Park and Ride.

The council's executive director for development, Tom Bridgman, said it was the "only practical option".

But he said other work would continue where it must done because of contractual commitments, including the dismantling of the car park in Oxpens.

Some council staff have been temporarily redeployed to support the authority's coronavirus response, which includes delivering food and medication to vulnerable people.

The extension to Seacourt Park and Ride will eventually create 596 extra spaces off Botley Road in Oxford

"Projects where construction has already started, or were about to start on site, have now been paused due to social distancing rules or being unable to source essential materials," Mr Bridgman said.

He said work must stop on some projects because face-to-face consultation would be needed before they could proceed.

Planned maintenance on the council's housing has also been postponed. Other desk-based work will continue.

Those projects include the Oxpens redevelopment - which the council said was "one of the most significant development opportunities in the city centre" - and the new Oxford Station master plan.