Botley Road businesses being ‘supported’, says Network Rail
Local business owners have previously they could not "sustain" the losses inflicted by the closure "indefinitely".
Zack Iqbal, owner of First Stop Spanner Works, told the BBC it was like "this section of Oxford is closed for business, closed for residents, and just basically shut off from the rest of the world".
Tom Rainey, who owns The Porter House restaurant and hotel and The Punter pub, said they were "financially, 10% down".
Mr Rainey is one of five business owners that stopped paying their rates, saying: "Not one person has offered us anything, and therefore we believe the only option is to make a stand."
While he admitted it was "a bit extreme", he said: "If I end up with a jail term, then I would accept that".