RESIDENTS parking zones in Oxford hauled in a six-figure profit despite county council claims it was not a money-making scheme.

Charging residents to park outside their homes has been branded a “parking tax” after figures reveal it made £110,000 last year.

But Oxfordshire County Council, which raised the price of permits in January, said any suggestion it was profit-making was “monumental drivel”.

It runs controlled parking zones (CPZs) across parts of the city to keep commuters from clogging residential roads. Residents must pay £50 per car for a permit.

Liberal Democrat spokes-man for finance, Alan Armitage, said the profit was a “disgrace” and will demand a rebate for city residents. He added: “They are trying to deceive people.”

The authority has always claimed the charges are designed to cover costs and not for profit.

But the latest financial figures show the permit scheme raised £110,442 last year. It cost £768,000 to run the scheme including staff costs, patrols and equipment. And it hauled in £878,000 through permit sales and fines.

Conservative-run County Hall claims profit is offset by a £288,000 loss in enforcing double yellow lines.

However, the income and expenditure for both yellow line administration and CPZs are shown in two separate accounting columns.

Mr Armitage added: “Now the charges are up to 20 per cent higher than administration costs. I don’t care how you dress it up, they are ripping people off.”

Labour councillor John Sanders, who represents Cowley and Littlemore, said the profit was “particularly galling” as the council put up permit charges from £40 to £50 in January.

He said: “It is a tax.”

Mr Sanders said Oxford needed controlled zones but permits should be free, as they were prior to 2006, with the admistration costs paid from council tax.

However, the man in charge of county transport estimated the scheme made a £100,000 loss.

Rodney Rose, cabinet member for transport, said: “Suggestions the county council is making a profit from residents’ parking schemes are monumental drivel. In 2010/11 the council made a net loss of around £290,000 on yellow line enforcement in the city.

“The vast majority of this loss was the direct result of enforcing double yellow lines within residents’ parking zones, which account for about 80 per cent of all double yellow lines in the city. Needless to say, the zones could not function without this enforcement.

“While we cannot isolate the exact figure, the cost of yellow line enforcement within residents’ parking zones is hugely disproportionate to the cost of enforcing other yellow lines.”