PARKING chiefs have pledged that a new residents’ parking zone in North Oxford will be introduced by the end of the month.

The controlled parking zone (CPZ) in Cutteslowe was approved in February after a series of delays but has not yet been introduced.

Oxfordshire County Council has now promised that the necessary signs and markings for the scheme will be in place by the end of the month.

David Tole, the county council’s principal engineer, has apologised for the delays.

He said: “Prior to work starting on the ground, all properties in the CPZ will receive a letter explaining how to apply for permits, application forms and information on the documents that will be needed when applying for a permit and an indication of when the restrictions are expected to come into force.”

Parking problems in the area have been caused by commuters not wanting to pay for the Water Eaton park-and-ride – as well as Oxford City Council’s policy of charging people to use car parks such as Cutteslowe Park.

The CPZ has been in the pipeline for more than a year but because the original scheme relied on “non-standard” signs, it was not given approval by the Department for Transport.

At the time the first decision on the CPZ was made, the Government was approving non-standard signs.

But councils now have to use signs chosen from a list provided by the Department for Transport.

The Cutteslowe scheme was given approval again in February after being redrawn.

County councillor for Summertown and Wolvercote Jean Fooks said: “It has taken far too long since the scheme was approved.

“I hope that the timetable given will be met so that we can see whether the proposals really do provide the help to residents that they want.

“The county council promised to review this after a year and this should give the opportunity to see what tweaks might be needed to make it better for residents across the whole area.”

County council spokesman Martin Crabtree said: “We have not yet decided on a definite implementation date, but we expect to be writing to residents with more information in the next week, once work in the necessary signs and lines has started.”

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