MOTORISTS look set to be hit with a broad range of cuts as part of the county council’s plans to save £106m over the next five years.

Drivers in Oxford face being charged more to park outside their own homes and in the city centre and the council is also proposing switching off more than a quarter of the county’s street lights to save £800,000 over four years.

The controversial measure would see 14,000 street lights turned off between 2011 and 2015, in addition to the estimated 1,200 to 1,500 lights which will be axed by spring next year.

The proposal means more than 26 per cent of 58,000 street lights controlled by the council will sit in darkness between 12.30am and 5am – saving hundreds of tonnes in carbon emissions each year.

The proposed move was criticised by Richard Clapham – a driving instructor for the past 24 years.

He said: “I’m sure the accident rate will go up if you switch off street lights. This will make it more difficult for drivers going from light to dark and dark to light.

Mr Clapham, a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for 47 years and owner of Access Driving Services in Botley, said the switch would affect older drivers with less clear eyesight and new drivers with less experience of judging vehicle speeds.

He added: “I’d also be concerned more people could be attacked while walking home at night.”

It is understood that the council will not impose street light switch-offs but is hopeful parish councils will volunteer for the scheme.

Head of transport Steve Howell said: “Safety would remain a very strong consideration and there would be full consultation.”

Other controversial measures include a proposal to increase the cost of residents parking permits from £40 to £50 a year.

Changes to the parking charges, introduced on about 560 of the city’s 1,200 roads, have been bitterly opposed by businesses and residents in the proposed Magdalen Road area Controlled Parking Zone. Michael Diliberto, 50, whose family have owned Giovanni’s barbers in Magdalen Road for 40 years, said: “This is just another way of getting money from people – it is just a stealth tax.”

Council leader Keith Mitchell denied CPZs had been introduced to raise money and said they would only be brought in where people wanted them.

Another proposal could see a reduction in non-essential highway repairs and maintenance.

The council will also review its on-street parking charges in Oxford which could lead to the creation of new areas of paid-for parking, and the re-introduction of charges on evenings and weekends in the city centre.

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk