Controlled parking zones are a subject that will always divide opinion.

If you live in a street that is plagued by commuter parking, the chances are you will support a CPZ. Others dislike idea of having to pay to park outside their own homes. What is very clear though, is that in Divinity Road, Oxford, at least, the system appears to be working. The figures are striking. In the three months since it was introduced, 599 penalty tickets have been issued. But each month there has been a drop in the number issued showing the message is getting across. The question now is whether parking has been displaced to other streets in the area.

Now the county council is consulting on plans to introduce a CPZ in Elms Road, Botley. Again, while people living in the proposed zone are pleased, some of those living nearby have voiced their concerns. They fear that it will push commuters who do not want to pay for parking into their streets instead. And that seems inevitable.