WORKMEN were back in Frideswide Square yesterday just months after its multi-million pound revamp as traders vented their frustration at the county council.

Businesses and residents slammed the road design that has forced vehicles to mount the kerb outside the Royal Oxford Hotel and cut corners causing the newly-laid paving slabs to crack and crumble.

But David Nimmo Smith, Oxfordshire County Council's member for transport, insisted industry guidelines for the £6.7m redevelopment had been followed, adding the works were "frustrating for the council as everyone else."

He added bollards may be installed if the problem persisted.

Yesterday motorists felt the familiar brunt of delays along Botley Road as the two-week scheme – expected to cost about £30,000 – to make "minor repairs and alterations" to the kerb began.

Amanda Suliman-Bell, who has run the Rainbow and Spoon boutique in the square for 18 years, said she was "very disappointed" to see work start again in the area after enduring 10 months of misery during the original revamp.

The Botley Road resident said she had lost about 30 per cent in trade because of the impact of the redevelopment.

She added: "It was mentioned in the planning stages that the road was too thin for large vehicles to go round. It was obvious at the time. The council pays you lip service but doesn't really listen.

"My business has been hugely affected by the last works, there's no question about it. It may look a lot better but there is nothing going on here.

"It's as if we are back to square one. They will have to configure the road layout or the problem will arise again in a matter of months.

"Honestly, I'm beyond fighting them [the council] anymore."

Finished in December last year, the new gateway to the city took nearly 45,000 working hours, over 400 tonnes of granite and 3,735 square metres of York Stone to complete.

The new design was meant to make it easier for the 7,000 cars and vans and about 5,000 lorries and buses going through each day by having roundabouts at either end of the square, replacing the old traffic lights.

But flaws soon became apparent as the bus stops were found to be too short and needed tarmac added at the end of them to allow vehicles to enter and exit without driving over kerbs.

And paving stones began to crack as buses and HGVs mounted the pavement as they turned left from Hythe Bridge Street to Park End Street, with motorists complaining the roundabout was too tight despite the local authority insisting the damage was the fault of poor driving.

Oxford Bus Company managing director Phil Southall said making the turn was "not physically achievable without the rear wheels of our coaches partially mounting the kerb".

He added: "While the facilities introduced for bus users could have been better, the square does now strike a better balance between road traffic and public realm.

"It has been well-documented that ideally we would have liked more room for buses to pull in and out of the bus stops.

"It is inevitable with such a major scheme as this that minor tweaks would be required."

Chairman of Bus Users Oxford Hugh Jaeger said the only way to prevent the same issues happening again would be to lengthen the bus bays and adjust the roundabouts.

He added: "All the county council had to do was contact the bus companies and ask them the length of their longest bus, multiply it by two and allow for some flexibility.

"The drivers are not robots.

"We need a long term solution rather than a short term fix, which will cost more money.

"Any big project will have errors and I do not want to drag an architect through the dirt, but these this is basic measuring and drawing."

Rajeeswari Subburaj, of Dosa Park in the square, said: "Yes the area looks better but of course we have lost business.

"We have received no compensation."

County councillor in charge of transport Mr Nimmo Smith insisted the council would not go back to the drawing board.

He added businesses opposite the Said Business School such as Dosa Park and Rainbow and Spoon were "not affected" by the works because they "rely on pedestrians".

He added: "What we do not want to have to do is put bollards there because the whole idea of the area was for it to be a plaza space.

"We are going to make it easier for longer vehicles to get round and we will see how that works.

"They should have enough space to turn, somehow they do not.

"We hope these works will mean if people still drive over it, the stone won't break up."

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Martin Crabtree added: "The new design at Frideswide has worked and these are minor repairs.

"Businesses are able to apply for business rate relief under certain circumstances. The businesses were made aware of this process and how to pursue this option some time ago."

BLOB Traffic lights were out yesterday morning at the Ferry Hinksey Road junction in Botley Road. The council was unable to confirm if this was done deliberately to help speed up traffic through Frideswide Square during rush hour.