PLANS to raise charges in two car parks in East Oxford have been put on hold due to concerns about how it could affect local businesses.

It had been proposed to raise short-stay charges in Union Street and St Clements car parks by 10p for stays of up to two hours.

The charges would have seen up-to-an-hour parking in St Clements going up to 80p and two hours up to £1.40, with charges at Union Street going up to 60p for up to two hours.

But members of Oxford City Council's east area parliament raised concerns that it could have a negative impact on local businesses and asked officers to look again at the issue.

Charges were raised at the car parks in April 2006 but due to an extended consultation period the new charges were not put in place until November 2006.

If the increase had been approved, it was expected that around £12,000 to £13,000 more cash would be collected from the car parks in a year.