Oxford sign: Cheeky welcome pops up on route into city

A sarcastic welcome sign has appeared briefly on a main route into Oxford.

The names of twinned cities on the original sign were replaced with "affordable housing, free-flowing traffic, zero rough sleepers, low retail rental and safe cycling".

It concluded: "And then Alice awoke to find that it was all a dream!"

Oxford City Council said the tongue-in-cheek sign, which was spotted on Sunday, had already been broken up and removed before its contractors arrived.

The person responsible for the sign on the Eastern Bypass near Littlemore did not want to be identified, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The person said: "You might think I was disappointed to see the sign broken, given the level of planning involved in such a project, but quite the opposite, in fact.

"For somebody to react so violently makes me feel that my project was an unarguable success.

"Of course, there's a satirical, tongue-in-cheek element to the sign's content.

"However, there are also serious issues to confront regarding Oxford as well as many other large cities in the UK, given that our population is expected to grow by another seven million in the next 10 years.

"And as the numbers grow, there will be more stress on the housing or rental sector and a growth in car ownership."

Oxford City Council said staff had and cleared away the debris, and other similar signs around the city were being checked.

Addressing the affordable housing quip, the city council said: "Oxford needs homes and in particular we need affordable homes.

"Working with housing associations and our housing company OX Place, we are on track to deliver a four-year programme of 1,600 affordable homes by the end of 2025/26."

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