A DRIVER who amassed £500 in parking fines for leaving his car outside his home has welcomed the introduction of a new parking strategy.

In adopting the plan, the cabinet of West Oxfordshire District Council allocated £35,000 to deliver parking improvements, including changes to on-street restrictions, which could lead to parking permits in some areas.

Last month the Witney Gazette revealed how residents of Corn Street and Church Green were urging the council to introduce a residents' permit, exempting them from the two-hour waiting restrictions enforced on their roads.

Town and county councillor Laura Price launched a petition to both WODC and Oxfordshire County Council which was signed by more than 160 people.

Dean Weaving, 30, who lives in Corn Street with his partner and has paid hundreds of pounds in parking fines over the past 18 months, welcomed the news but said it was long overdue.

He said: “It's interesting that this has now all of a sudden come to light because the residents have been fighting for this privilege for years.

“I hope that permits will be available to each household that needs one in these affected areas.”

Mr Weaving, who received his most recent parking ticket in the last week, described the council’s adoption of the strategy as a step in the right direction.

Last Wednesday cabinet members voted in favour of adopting the new strategy, which also set out the need for more parking spaces in key areas, improvements to existing facilities and a review of enforcement.

Issues to be assessed by officers which were raised in the consultation include cars parking for days and weeks at a time in New Yatt Road and Woodgreen, Witney; an apparent lack of parking provision in the centre of Woodstock; and a demand for heightened enforcement for cars parking around Shilton Park in Carterton in evenings.

It will provide a blueprint for the district council to help make decisions on proposed parking changes or improvements.

The key policy of free parking at all 15 car parks managed or owned by the council remains at the centre of the strategy.

Cabinet member for the environment and community Carol Reynolds said: “We see the provision of free parking as vitally important in supporting our economy as well as the needs of residents and local businesses.

“The parking strategy has taken on board the view of residents and local businesses and it is designed to support their needs until 2031, complementing the draft Local Plan.”

The council says the strategy is flexible and capable of evolving as new developments appear across the district.

It was developed following a survey held earlier in the year that was completed by more than 2,600 people.