Sir – In 2005, many of us successfully lobbied for evening and Sunday car parking charges to be dropped. We argued that the policy was extremely detrimental for the evening and weekend economy of Oxford and emphasised that no other UK city, including London, adopted this damaging policy. When the charges were eventually scrapped, the result was dramatically good for business and Oxford’s cultural wellbeing.
Now Oxfordshire County Council are considering the reintroduction of these charges. How retrograde and completely short sighted. The Coalition Government and our own Conservative county council are supposed to be interested in encouraging the growth of business.
The county council’s proposed discouragement of evening visitors to Oxford is absolutely sure to do the opposite.
Come on, for goodness sake, less knee-jerk reaction to budget deficits and more creative, intelligent lateral thinking to become more efficient and build our local economy. There are much better ways to overcome the deficit and get us out of this recession.
Jeremy Mogford, Chairman, Oxford High Street Association, Co-chairman ROX (Promoting Oxford Business)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here