Council hopes to save £100,000 as part of new car park deal in Banbury

The move would see Oxfordshire County Council - which took over enforcement of on-street parking in November 2021 - work alongside the district council on the car parks in Banbury.

The deal will see existing APCOA staff, the company which currently enforces the district council’s car parks, transfer to the county council’s contractor. CDC hopes this will save it about £100,000. Cherwell’s current contract with APCOA is worth around £450,000 a year and CDC's predicted annual spend under a deal with the county council is under £350,000.

Cllr Dan Sames said: “Drivers have benefitted from a number of improvements during the course of our existing contract with APCOA. These include the introduction of pay-on exit at two car parks, the addition of electric vehicle chargers at five of them, and this autumn, LED lighting will follow.

“Our commitment under a new arrangement with Oxfordshire County Council will be to speed up payment machines and increase pay-on exit, which I know is popular with drivers. We will retain cash payments so that users have a choice of how to pay.

“Since it was introduced nearly a year ago, the arrangement for enforcement of on-street parking we have with the county council seems to have been a success.

“It makes sense that enforcement in our car parks should be carried out by the same team, and this will cost the taxpayer less money too."