A TOP government minister could be forced to settle a row about banning buses from one of Oxford’s main shopping streets.

Lawyers at Oxfordshire County Council have warned that if bus companies object to the closure of Queen Street it cannot go ahead without approval from Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary.

It means the authority may have to fight the operators at an inquiry, throwing into doubt plans to pedestrianise the road in time for the Westgate Shopping Centre’s reopening in October.

The council says it is seeking a solution that will convince bus companies to drop their opposition. The firms argue closing the road will deprive them of a key bus turning loop.

Stagecoach Oxfordshire boss Martin Sutton said he was ‘hopeful’ a compromise would be found but added: “If we fail to do so, as a last resort, we may have to consider a formal objection.”

Bus companies previously supported plans for pedestrianisation on the condition a new turning circle would be created for buses in New Road. But they backed out after Nuffield College – which owns land needed for the circle – objected.

Correspondence obtained in a Freedom of Information request shows there is significant unease in County Hall about going ‘into battle’ with the companies.

It can also be revealed that:

p Transport bosses only learnt of Nuffield College’s objection to the turning circle by reading the Oxford Mail in September

p A senior council official privately warned pressing ahead with closing Queen Street could lead to ‘costly and time consuming’ inquiries, with another fretting it would see the authority get ‘quite a hiding’

p Developers behind the Westgate’s revamp and John Lewis, its flagship new tenant, ‘strongly’ lobbied for pedestrianisation.

In emails exchanged by senior county council officers, some suggested dropping the Queen Street plans. On the possibility of a public inquiry, one official wrote: “My sense is we would be setting ourselves up for quite a hiding.”

The council must give at least 56 days notice of any new restrictions. This means it has six months at most to devise a plan not opposed by the operators if it wants to avoid a legal battle.

The only suggestion put forward so far – for buses to turn at Frideswide Square – was dismissed as impractical and potentially unsafe by bus chiefs.

A county council spokesman said: “We are clarifying with the nature of the process as regards potential involvement of Secretary of State. Our aim is to get to the stage where there are no objections.”