'Crazy car parking permit rules' means Banbury motorist can't park outside his home

Oxfordshire County Council introduced the parking permits to Beargarden Road, Crouch Street, West Bar and Westbeech Court on January 15.

The new restrictions mean that residents of the aforementioned streets will need to apply for a £66 per year permit in order for them to be able to park their cars on their street.

It was introduced by the local authority to free up parking spaces in some of the busiest spots and to ensure residents of the selected streets have priority for parking.

However, one resident of Crouch Street has said that instead of making parking easier for him, the new rules now mean he has to park in the town’s public car parks.

Tristan Findlay originally applied for a permit for his wife’s car as it was leased under his name on a three year contract, and the council’s rules stipulate that the registered owner of the car has to apply for the permit.

When it came to applying for a permit for the car he uses to commute to work in London several times a week, he was denied a permit as the council does not allow one resident to own two separate parking permits.

Tristan says he cannot change the ownership of the leased car, so the only option to change the name over would be to opt out of the current lease agreement, which would incur a cost of around £1,000 and start a new one in his wife’s name.

Tristan said: “As a house without a drive, we were welcoming of the new restrictions and happy to pay the £66 yearly permit per car for the two cars that we have, one mine and one my wife’s.

"I applied for my wife’s permit a few months ago, successfully, and recently applied for the one for my car, as they have now started enforcing on the street, but the council rejected my application.

"I called the council right away and explained that yes, one car, my car, is owned by me. The other car that my wife drives is a lease car. I did the paperwork for that car as at the time my wife was on maternity leave; therefore, we felt better doing it under my name as I was in full-time employment.

"If I could have changed the name of leaseholder over I would have done so straight away, but I physically can’t.”

Tristan has said that the council’s response has frustrated him and that if the council rolls out the parking permits for other areas of town, they will come up against this issue repeatedly.

He said: “I can now no longer park on my street, so I have to use public parking areas where I have to pay, and I have the hassle and safety concern of not having my car close to my house.

"I would completely understand the situation if either of the cars were in the name of someone not living in the house, but given we are both registered on the council tax, are married, and are insured on both cars.

"I genuinely feel amazed that in this modern world, where often one partner will have both cars in their name, we are stuck in a council from the 1980s who will not budge on this crazy decision.”

The council responded to the complaint by saying that the Traffic Regulation Orders that govern the scheme strictly stipulate that only one permit may be issued to one resident.

They said: “In this instance, Mr Findlay has been refused one application because he has already been issued with a parking permit in his name.

“Providing Mr Findlay is happy to transfer a vehicle into his wife’s name we can issue a permit in lieu of the change at the DVLA so there is no wait, which tends to take up to six weeks."

But as Tristan stated above, this option would cost him about £1,000.

The council added: “We have to remain consistent in our approach to issuing permits as these parking schemes are designed to regulate parking, reduce highway obstruction and to give priority over available space to residents and their visitors. As you can appreciate some form of restraint is needed to ration the limited parking space available in an equitable way, thus introducing the maximum one permit per person, two permits per property regulation.”