OXFORD City Council is rather damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t over car parking during the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre.

Today we report its plans for a range of options for temporary car parking for about three years while our new shining £400m retail centre – part of which will occupy the site of the current Westgate car park – is built.

The stark reality is this city needs this new shopping centre. And that requires tearing down the current 1,090 car park.

The city council is now looking at temporary replacements but it will only be able to offer between 450 and 619 spaces, at best about half the current capacity.

The legitimate question to ask is where do we expect those other motorists (read shoppers) to go?

Traders quite rightly are concerned at facing potentially three years where shoppers will find driving into the city even more difficult than they currently do.

Some will say it will boost public transport but the reality is so many of us are so welded to our cars that we will just go elsewhere.

Demanding the council builds a 1,000-space temporary car park also ignores reality.

What we do hope though is the council looks to plump for the larger option rather than the cheaper one.

While the city is going to have to deal with the turmoil of redeveloping Westgate, we hope the council realises as it makes its decision that it is no good letting traders die off before they are able to benefit from the influx the new centre will bring.