UNSIGHTLY churned-up grass verges are soon to be a thing of the past in Marston.

Oxford City Council has asked residents not to park their cars on verges in Nicholas Avenue and Rippington Drive so grid protecters can be installed.

After the work is completed residents can park on the newly-protected verges without fear of damaging them.

The work is part of Oxford City Council’s £1m Great Estates project, which started last year.

Marston Parish Council’s chairman, Charlie Haynes, said rutted grass verges could be a problem in the area.

He said: “We have complained in the past that people tend to cut the verges up. It’s unsightly, especially when people are developing houses.

“It can end up a quagmire when people park there, but it has been going on for years.”

Parish council vice-chairman Duncan Hatfield hailed the work as a “step in the right direction”.

He said: “It’s definitely going to look better, because it has been an on-going issue for a long time.

“So this is a step in the right direction and it’s good that something is being done about it.

“Hopefully, it will be done well, done quickly and put an end to the damaged verges.”

Last year the city council spent £700,000 on the parking programme of its Great Estates project at six sites, including Ashurst Way, Blackbird Leys and Redmoor Close.

This year it has another £450,000 to spend and has already carried out work in Masons Road, Headington.

Marston’s Independent Oxford city councillor, Mick Haines, said parking on verges also created other issues for residents.

He said: “People can’t get along the path, because it narrows the pavement. It cuts up the verges as well.”

Oxford City Council sent a letter to Nicholas Avenue and Rippington Drive residents asking them not to park on the verges so the work could be carried out.

It is hoped the concrete grids will put a stop to rutting that occurs to the soft grass verge surface when vehicles park half on and half off them.

Council spokesman Chofamba Sithole said: “Our engineers are putting in grass grid verge protection in Nicholas Avenue.

“We sent letters to residents of Nicholas Avenue, prior to the work commencing, asking them not to park in the road, so that engineers could have a clear run at reconstructing the verges with the new protection.

“As you know, unprotected verges are easily damaged by parked cars and this work is designed to allow verge parking without losing a neat and tidy look for the road.”

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