A NEW controlled parking zone (CPZ) at Lye Valley was officially given the go-ahead this week by Oxfordshire County Council, in a move supporters hope will ease the 'enormous' parking problem in Oxford.

Consultation for the new CPZ had been underway since May and at a cabinet meeting on Thursday proposals for the new permit parking system were given the green light.

Covering the whole Lye Valley area, the new system will restrict parking to residents and visitors between Monday and Friday 9am until 5pm, with a two-hour limited waiting period for all vehicles.

Welcoming the news, county councillor for Lye Valley Liz Brighouse said: “I am just really pleased that it has gone through. The majority of the people in the area wanted something to be done.

“I have been fighting for it for about three years. We have spent a long time getting the council to consult on it to find out what the residents thought about it.

“There is a lot of building going on and people parking there who go to the hospital and the roads got completely clogged up with cars.

“It has been a major problem with parking in the area. I am hoping this will solve that.”

Asked whether she thought the problem would just move on to other areas, she said that consultation was soon to get underway on introducing another CPZ at nearby Wood Farm.

She added: “The parking issue in Oxford is just enormous and the more development there is and the more people coming in to Oxford will make it worse."