Oxpens car park reopening delayed due to hot weather

Oxford City Council had planned to reopen Oxpens car park tomorrow, after closing it on May 16 so that disused decking could be removed.

However, a council spokesperson said the car park will not open this weekend.

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The council spokesperson said: “Oxpens car park will not reopen tomorrow as planned.

“The hot weather has affected the car park’s surface, and reopening the facility would risk damaging people’s vehicles and footwear.

“The temperature is expected to fall on Sunday. We will inspect the car park early Monday morning and, if it is safe to do so, we will look to reopen the facility then.”

Meanwhile, the car park, which has 178 parking spaces, has gone cashless.

File image of the Oxpens car park. Picture: Ed Nix

Louise Upton, the city council’s cabinet member for health and transport, said: “We’ve been trialling cashless payments at two of our car parks throughout this year and the transition has gone smoothly for most users.

“The car parks are joining the many areas where cashless payment is the norm – in shops, in pubs, or when using council services.

“Most car park users in Oxford have been using cashless payment methods for a long time. And for the council, this represents a way to reduce the administrative cost of operating our car parks at a time when our finances are stretched.”

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This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.

Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice