Road partly reopens following building collapse

A road which had remained closed for more than a week after a building site partially collapsed has partly reopened.

Two people were taken to hospital after an apartment block under construction partly collapsed alongside scaffolding on the A4260 Cherwell Street in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on 21 October.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) previously said it was investigating the incident, and its inspectors had visited the site as part of its inquiries.

The key route had remained totally closed since the incident, but Oxfordshire County Council said that the route had reopened on Friday afternoon.

Following safety advice, the county council said it had created two lanes in the road space furthest from the collapse between the George Street and Bridge Street junctions.

The two temporary lanes run in opposite directions - allowing traffic to flow through from either side of the collapse.

It said some right turns into Lower Cherwell Street and Morrisons petrol station are restricted as part of the reopening.

The road, which sits on one of the market town's busiest junctions, had remained closed since the incident, causing traffic to divert and build up elsewhere.

A proposal by the site's owner to make the site safe and for materials to be removed is currently being considered by the HSE.

Councillor Gareth Epps, who is in charge of Oxfordshire's roads, previously said: "We can't afford to take any chances with people's safety."

Announcing the partial reopening, the county council said the road would likely need to be closed again in its entirety to allow crane operations to make the building site safe.

The authority added that it would wait for further information from Cherwell District Council and the HSE before fully reopening the road.

Since the road closure, locals had taken to social media to report widespread congestion and long delays around other town centre routes, including at Banbury Cross.

Thames Valley Police said nine workers had been at the site when the scaffolding and building both partially collapsed - with two injured and taken to hospital.