New 20mph speed limits in Oxfordshire will be enforced by police after it was previously claimed they did not have the resources to do so.

The viability of the county council’s £8m plan had been questioned by Thames Valley Police during consultations on the proposals.

But the council’s highways chief Andrew Gant confirmed to BBC Radio Oxford that attitude had now changed.

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber said the force’s previous comments were made on “technical grounds”.

Mr Gant said police “started by objecting and saying it was a matter for the borough council and would not be enforced, that changed”.

Thames Valley Police previously told the council there should be “no expectation that they will be able to provide regular enforcement if the speed limit is set too low”.

But Mr Barber said it was “always the case” that officers would enforce the new limits.

“What’s really important is that we focus on saving lives on our roads; any death on our roads in our area is too many,” he said.

Since the plan was first introduced in 2022, more than 200 requests to reduce speed limits to 20mph in towns and villages have been approved by the council.

Mr Barber also pointed out that the £8m plan did not provide money for the police to enforce the measures.

“The majority of police resources will inevitably focus on the most dangerous areas where enforcement can save the most lives, and these will often be our faster roads and dangerous junctions.

“That doesn’t mean police won’t and can’t enforce in those (20mph) areas.”

Mr Gant added that managing the new boundaries was about “behaviour change”.

“It’s about getting used to the new normal over time, and that happens,” he said.

The comments suggest that much of Banbury, the country’s second largest town, become a 20mph zone.