Summertown Controlled Parking Zone

10.24.55am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 12th Jun 2007

Local Lib Dem Councillors Jean Fooks and Dermot Roaf have replied to allegations in the Oxford Times that they suggested that people not replying to a consultation on whether to have a controlled parking zone would be assumed to be in favour of the scheme. They said:

"Richard Hunt's letter (June 8) repeats the statement that we suggested that those who did not reply to the County Council's consultation on the proposed North Summertown Controlled Parking Zone were somehow in favour of the scheme. We did not say this to the Traffic Decisions Committee.

"A similar suggestion had been made by County officers in the consultation on their proposal to ban left turns into Jackson Road, but we did use the phrase (without making clear where the suggestion came from) in an earlier letter to residents to encourage them to respond to the consultation letters about the CPZ. Unfortunately this did not raise the response rate. Now, after the decision has been made, some local people are organising a petition and have been more successful. We fear that this may be too late.

"Some parts of the proposed CPZ clearly support the proposal; others strongly oppose it. We argued that three roads should be excluded from the scheme, but were unable to persuade the Councillors who make traffic decisions.

"This matter was raised at the North Area Committee on June 7 when one speaker from the floor asked for implementation to be delayed and another asked for immediate implementation. We sympathise with both speakers, but feel, on balance, that implementation should now proceed."