West Oxfordshire Conservatives have welcomed confirmation that controversial proposals to explore reducing free parking have been removed from Oxfordshire County Council’s latest Movement & Place Plan following strong local opposition.
An earlier version of the West Oxfordshire Lowlands Movement & Place Plan stated that the availability of free parking could discourage people from using alternative forms of transport for shorter journeys.
It went on to propose working with communities, businesses and other stakeholders to explore options to manage parking, including the “removal/limiting of free parking”, relocating car parking and “reducing parking stock”.
The wording prompted concerns from local Conservative councillors, who argued that reducing or removing free parking would risk damaging town centres and businesses, particularly given the rural nature of West Oxfordshire and the number of residents who depend on their cars.
Following campaigning by the local Conservative team with a petition signed by 1,890 people, the controversial references have now been removed from the latest version of the plan considered by Oxfordshire County Council’s Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
Cllr Liam Walker, Leader of the Conservative Group at Oxfordshire County Council and Chair of the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, said: “Free parking is hugely important to Witney and West Oxfordshire, so I’m pleased that after our campaigning these proposals have been removed from the plan. The original wording was very clear about exploring the removal or limiting of free parking, relocating parking and reducing the overall number of spaces. That understandably caused concern among residents and businesses."
“We all want to see better public transport and more choice in how people travel, but West Oxfordshire is a rural area and for many people the car isn’t a luxury it's how they get to work, take their children to school, go shopping or attend appointments."
“With significant housing growth planned across the district, we should be making sure our towns have the infrastructure and parking capacity they need, not looking for ways to reduce it.”
Cllr David Edwards-Hughes a Witney town councillor, said: "This is a welcome change and shows why it is important that we challenge proposals when we believe they would have a negative impact on Witney. Free and accessible parking is one of the advantages our town centre has. It supports our shops, hospitality businesses and other local employers and helps keep Witney an attractive place for people to visit."
“At a time when town centre businesses already face considerable pressures, the last thing we should be doing is making it more difficult or expensive for people to come into Witney.
“The local Conservative team made our concerns clear and we are pleased the County Council has listened. We will continue to stand up for sensible parking provision in Witney and across West Oxfordshire.”
The Movement & Place Plan covers Witney, Carterton, Burford and surrounding communities and is intended to set out the County Council’s long-term approach to transport and infrastructure across the area.
