HOMEBUYERS are paying £20,000 for underground parking spaces linked to new canalside apartments in Jericho, Oxford.

Berkeley Homes is selling the 200 underground spaces with the two and three-bedroom apartments at Oxford Waterfront, on the site of the old Lucy's factory in Walton Well Road.

There are 68 apartments, which cost from £340,000 to £540,000, along with six penthouses selling at £800,000.

Louise Ashurst, a spokesman for Berkeley Homes, said: "It costs £20,000 for one parking space, and £27,500 for two tandem parking spaces, where one vehicle blocks another in.

"The spaces are an additional cost when people buy the homes but it means they do not have to worry about permit parking.

"It is safe, secure underground parking and adds to the re-sale value of the homes.

"A few potential buyers baulked at the cost of the parking spaces and were put off because they thought it would be included in the price of the property but for others it was a welcome addition to the package."

A member of staff at the sales and marketing suite in Juxon Street said some buyers were people commuting to London, while others were investors, or were buyers "downsizing" to take advantage of the city centre location.

Some homes have already been reserved, and the company is waiting for buyers to exchange contracts, with the scheme due for completion next year.

Parking spaces are at such a premium in Jericho, with numerous residents' parking schemes, that buyers are prepared to pay for the spaces.

The 68 apartments are in phase two of the Oxford Waterfront development, which comprises 249 one, two and three-bedroom homes.

During the past ten years, Berkeley Homes has built a series of canalside developments in north Oxford.

Georgina Wloszowicz, 36, of Plater Drive, North Oxford, said she paid £5,000 for a parking space when she bought her Berkeley Homes house seven years ago.

She added: "We could have bought two spaces and now I wish we had.

"It was additional to the sale price but I think it was worth it, and I can understand residents wanting to secure a parking space.

"I have got two young children, and it is not very convenient if you can't park outside your home.

"I have got friends in Kingston Road, who often have to park quite a distance away, because they can't find a space."

Colin Cook, Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney, said: "I'm astonished that people are prepared to pay this much for a parking space, but with the county council proposing to charge for parking permits, they will have a real advantage over those who have to park on-street.

"If 200 spaces are sold at £20,000 a pop, that's £4m, and I do think the city council missed a trick in getting sufficient contributions from the developers for a new community centre and a children's play area, although the strategic development control committee did ensure the right proportion of social housing."

Mr Cook said all major new developments had to provide off-street parking spaces, according to the parking standards set out in the new Local Plan, and these residents would not be eligible for parking permits.

Green city councillor Craig Simmons added: "The way to reduce the number of cars on the streets is to have a car-free development, not one that only the rich can afford.

"This will mean more traffic in Jericho and the kind of people who can afford these prices will probably be driving bigger, polluting vehicles."