A public consultation has opened on the Shepherd’s Pit Lane quiet lane trial, with Oxfordshire County Council inviting residents, businesses and the local community to have their say on the measures to improve active travel.
A gate has been installed at the Bayswater Road end of Shepherd’s Pit Lane, in the parish of Stanton St John, with the aim of creating safer and more attractive routes for people walking, wheeling, cycling and horse riding, by reducing the impact of motor traffic.
Access will be maintained for residents, farmers, landowners, businesses and emergency services, with other through-traffic routed along the B4027 Wheatley Road and Bayswater Road, which was already the most direct way.
Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said:
“Quiet lanes are part of our commitment to making roads safer and encouraging sustainable travel. By removing through traffic, quiet lanes can reduce vehicle numbers and speeds, lower the risk and severity of collisions, and make minor roads feel calmer and safer for people who walk, cycle, wheel and ride horses.
“The Shepherd’s Pit Lane quiet lane was developed following local concerns about road safety and through engagement with the local community. It will now be trialed using the same locally led and evidence-based approach that will be applied to future quiet lane schemes across Oxfordshire.
“This trial is an opportunity to see how a ‘fully filtered’ quiet lane works in practice, gather feedback from local people and collect robust evidence before any decisions are made about its future. I would encourage anyone with an interest in the trial to share their views.”
The consultation will run for at least six months with the trial set to run for at least a year.
The Shepherd’s Pit Lane trial is the first to be delivered through the council’s new countywide quiet lanes policy and pilot programme, approved in May 2026.
As part of this policy, gates or bollards will be used in quiet lane trials, reflecting updated evidence that signage only lanes do not reduce traffic or speed enough to improve safety.
The Shepherd’s Pit Lane trial was developed in response to local concerns about road safety and limited opportunities for safe walking and cycling between Stanton St John village and Oxford. It has been shaped by local engagement carried out during 2025 and 2026, including discussions with village residents, landowners and the parish council.
Throughout the trial, the council will monitor the scheme and gather evidence, including consultation feedback and monitoring data. At the end of the experimental period, the Cabinet Member will make a public decision on whether the measures should remain in place, be amended or removed.
(Picture: Oxfordshire County Council)
