RESIDENTS frustrated by overspill parking blocking their Cowley homes are calling for action.

People living in The Grates near Templars Square shopping centre say the parking problems are the worst they ever have been.

Deana Barrett, 52, a secretary at Mabel Prichard Special School in Blackbird Leys, has lived in The Grates for 31 years.

She called for employers, shops and developers to get together to find a solution.

That could include thinking harder about parking issues when new developments are planned, or opening shopping centre car parks later at night.

Mrs Barrett said: “It’s been going on for years but it’s just got worse and worse. They park over driveways so we can’t get out.

“Sometimes we’ve found we can’t get our cars in because they park too close on both sides.”

The Grates is one of the first unrestricted roads away from the car parks serving the retail park.

People trying to escape parking charges park in her road, including, she believes, people working at the offices and shops in Cowley Centre.

She said: “You see them getting out of their cars then walking to work.

“It used to be a problem mainly at weekends with people shopping, but now it’s all the time.”

The former Cowley Community Centre, in Barns Road, is to be redeveloped, and Sainsbury is hoping to open a new store in the Templar Shopping Park.

Both of these are likely to increase parking pressures in the area.

Neighbour John Taylor, 66, said: “The problem has got noticeably worse.

“During the week you cannot get a place to park on the street until very late.

“It should be residents’ parking in this area.”

Another elderly resident, who asked not to be named, said drivers were becoming abusive when asked to move their cars.

She said: “It is dreadful. In the daytime, people park here who work down the shopping centre, and in the evening it is people who live in the surrounding area.

“If you ask them to mind where you are parking you get a mouthful of swear words.

“We are all normally such nice people, but this leaves a really bad feeling.”

Templars Square centre manager Aaron Bayliss said he believed parking at the car parks was reasonable and shop employees were offered a heavily discounted rate.

He said: “Our car parks typically cover business hours, with the last exit at 6.30pm.

“Nobody has mentioned specific parking issues after operating hours, but if a need for parking going into the evening hours is identified it’s certainly something we could consider.”