Brakes put on 'unofficial park and ride' in side streets around Oxford's Iffley Fields

People in the area said they were fed up with dozens of commuters using their streets to park and then travel onwards to Oxford city centre.

Now, following a petition signed by almost 400 people last year, Oxfordshire County Council has stumped up more than £200,000 for a controlled parking zone (CPZ).

Iffley Fields county councillor David Williams, of the Green Party, said he was delighted.

He said: "I am absolutely delighted after four years of campaigning that it really has come true.

"It has been an unofficial park and ride, Stratford Street in particular because it is the closest street to the city centre without a CPZ.

"A large number of commuters leave their cars there for the day, we know who they are.

"We reckon there are more than 100."

Pressure was ramped up last summer by Iffley Fields Parking Action Group, which claimed the streets were being used by a range of commuters including boys and staff from nearby Magdalen College School.

The group added that it feared the new Westgate Centre, due to open this October, would exacerbate the problem.

Mr Williams said: "As well as congestion a big problem is air quality.

"When you look at CPZs the air is much better there because there are not as many cars parking."

A public meeting on how the CPZ will operate and exactly what area will cover will be held on May 16, with a time and location to be announced.

The area was reportedly excluded from the first wave of CPZs created in the city because of worries that some streets would only have had parking on one side, which would have cut the number of overall spaces.

Mr Williams said he hoped people would engage with the council to make sure the CPZ worked for them.

He said: "The consultation will take most of the summer and we are hoping to get it the whole thing moving.

"When it gets started it will not take too long and it will be hopefully finished by the end of the year."