Contractors parking their vans and cars in the city centre have been hit with a new charge costing hundreds of pounds a year.

Until April, private contractors working in the city could park for free in restricted parking areas if they applied for a permit.

But under a new rule introduced by Oxfordshire County Council, they now must apply for a £16-a-week permit for each of their vehicles.

Simon Lewis, who has worked as a window cleaner in the city centre for more than 20 years, described it as a tax on contractors.

Mr Lewis – who employs three other people and has two vans – had previously parked in Cornmarket Street during the hours of 6am and 10am for free.

He said: “It’s absolute tosh. As far as I’m concerned it’s a money-making scheme by the council. This is a council whose new leader said he wanted to help small business, and this is the council’s way of doing it.

“I’m trying to deliver a service but I’m being discriminated against.

“I’ve worked in the city for more than 20 years and I have watched it being slowly destroyed by the councils in charge of it.

“As far I’m concerned the city of Oxford is dying a very slow and painful death.

“I need my van to be near me while I am working, I can’t carry all of the equipment from the car park, and I have had equipment stolen in the past. This is a stealth tax which could see me paying £1,500 a year just to do my job.”

Phil West, of DF Williams Cleaning Services Ltd, based in Magdalen Road, has worked in the city centre since 1978.

He said the county council had not told him anything of the changes.

He said: “I am waiting to be prosecuted then I will put it in the hands of lawyers.

“No one has told us anything.

“There are no signs up or anything.

“What if someone comes in from outside the city.

“What will they do? How will they know?”

Oxfordshire County Council said contractors had always needed permission to park in restricted zones such as Cornmarket Street, and the charges it had levied for the permit were more lenient than other areas.

Spokesman Owen Morton said: “On April 1 the county council introduced a £16 flat-rate charge for contractors seeking to park in restricted zones in Oxford city for up to a week.

“During the six months leading up to April 1, traders applying for a free permit were being informed about the new charge coming in.

“Letters explaining the new arrangement were also sent out to around 1,000 contractors known to have applied for parking permission in recent years.

“As such, every effort has been made to alert as many local traders as possible to the changes coming in. We also allowed a two-week grace period for any traders not displaying a valid permit.

“Similar charges have long been levied by other councils across the country, and in some cases these charges are significantly higher.”

Ian Hudspeth, Oxfordshire County Council’s new leader, was unavailable to comment last night.