Just before Christmas, on the 16th December, Councillor Nick Cotter and I met with two Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) officers concerning the safety issues with the Rodney House roundabout at the entrance to Graven Hill. The officers were from the Place Planning North team responsible for strategic local highway, transport and infrastructure planning matters in the north of the county [1]. This followed on from the meeting in late Summer with Councillor Andrew Gant, the cabinet member for Transport Management at OCC [2]. As with the earlier meeting, I walked them around the roundabout to point out all the different issues it has.
It is fair to say that the officers shared many of the concerns Nick and I pointed out and outlined in detail in the report I previously provided to Councillor Gant [3]. Of note was the fact that both officers travelled by car and so experienced and acknowledged the challenge of turning right into Graven Hill themselves. It was also noticeable how uncomfortable and exposed they both felt when walking around the roundabout, especially at the two corners where pedestrian guardrailing has been removed, with traffic passing by at speed only a few metres away.
In discussing next steps, I was told the matter would be escalated to the Vision Zero team at OCC, an initiative set up to eliminate road collision fatalities [4], and that they would look to secure funding for improvements to be made to the roundabout. Whilst entirely sympathetic to the cause, I was left under no illusion that this would be a challenge, with no progress likely to be made until the next financial year in April. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that as bad as our roundabout may be, there have been no serious incidents (as yet) and even accident hotspots where there have been fatalities have similarly struggled to get funding [5].
One option that may be relatively simple (and cheap) to implement is a reduction in the speed limit at the roundabout from 40mph to 30mph. Obviously, this does not address a number of the roundabout’s fundamental problems and many drivers will still exceed any limit set, but it should help slow things down and so reduce the type of issues that have frequently destroyed pedestrian guardrailing and traffic lights. Even this measure would take time to implement though, as there would need to be a consultation process similar to that undertaken recently for the introduction of double-yellow lines and 20mph speed limits at Graven Hill.
In addition to the walk around and a detailed discussion of the assorted issues with the roundabout, I also showed the officers photos and video dashcam footage of some of the accidents over the last year. I have since sent this over to them in document form [6]. The visual evidence in itself is very compelling and as further accidents seem inevitable, it will be useful to build on this document. To assist with this, please continue to report any accidents you witness on our Facebook group or send to committee@gravenhillra.com .
In summary, whilst progress is painfully slow, it would appear that the case for improvements to the roundabout has been successfully made and in addition to Councillors Cotter and Gant, we also now have supporters of the cause within OCC itself. This is good news, but it remains to be seen whether any tangible improvements materialise in the coming year. Despite having first raised this issue six years back, as we approach 2026 I am cautiously optimistic. Time will tell whether or not that sentiment proves to be justified.
Paul Davis, Chair, Graven Hill Residents’ Association
[1] Movement and Place Planning: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/movement-and-place-plan/introduction
[2] Summary of meeting with Councillor Andrew Gant: https://gravenhillra.com/2025/08/12/safety-of-rodney-house-roundabout/
[3] Report on Rodney House roundabout: https://gravenhillra.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rodney-house-roundabout.docx.pdf
[4] Vision Zero: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/road-safety/vision-zero
[5] Place Planning Team update on pursuing safety improvements in accident hotspots in Chipping Norton: https://www.chippingnorton-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025.03-Chipping-Norton-TAC-OCC-Place-Planning-Report.pdf
[6] 2025 examples of accidents at Rodney House roundabout: https://gravenhillra.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-examples-of-accidents-at-the-rodney-house-roundabout.pdf
Graven Hill Residents' Association 