Organisers of a community event in Jericho are to be charged a facility fee by the city council for using a public space, it has been claimed.
Since 2021, a series of 'Lazy Sunday' gatherings featuring live music, food and sales of art and books have taken place at Mount Place.
They have been organised by John Mair, who has staged a number of community events including street fairs.
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Until now the council has not charged the event organisers who said they were now being asked for a facility fee.
Mr Mair is hoping the council will waive the fee but at the moment organisers are expecting to be charged for the next Lazy Sunday on April 29.
The council told the Oxford Mail it is looking into the matter.
Mr Mair said the Lazy Sunday events to date have been a big success since they started in 2021.
He added: "The Greening Jericho group had done brilliant work in replanting Mount place and turning it from an antisocial magnet to a community asset.
"I wanted to build on that with regular social/music events.
"That's why I invented Lazy Sunday in 2021.
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"There have since been nine or 10 and my original aim has been realised in spades."
Lazy Sunday started with a book fair, then an art fair then a general craft fair and often attracted more than 200 people.
Local musicians have played there from from the beginning, and Towpath Productions joined in to help organise the events shortly after they were launched.
Organisers say they have paid public liability insurance from the first event.
In September 2022 the council said on its website: "The council has added a new outdoor city location to its list of event spaces for hire.
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"Mount Place in Jericho provides a paved area next to the canal for both community and commercial events by organisers. It has been recently redeveloped to provide a welcoming communal space, and volunteers from Greening Jericho worked with the council on the landscaping and now do all the gardening work.
"Just a short distance from the city centre, the site is tucked away down side streets and open to the canal, providing an intimate space that feels both urban and full of nature.
"The new space gives residents and businesses a place to hold events in a previously under-used area of Oxford. It also offers communities a chance to come together for celebrations and other occasions in this popular neighbourhood."
Greening Jericho won the 2021 Oxford Preservation Trust award for Landscape and Public Realm for their work on the square.
A city council spokesperson said: "All city council owned spaces can be hired for events. For small community events such as Greening Jericho's plant sales there is no charge.
"For larger events with commercial stalls there is a small charge, which is to cover the costs involved in checking that liability insurance is in place, that appropriate health and safety checks have been done, and that the event organisers inform residents of anything like loud music close to their homes.
"This is not an optional process, but is a requirement on city council owned land. The process is exactly the same for all such spaces across the city."
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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF
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