AFTER months of wrangling, parking restrictions look set to be introduced in part of North Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council will decide this week whether to introduce the Cutteslowe controlled parking zone (CPZ) which has been in the pipeline for more than a year.

Changes to the scheme have been made as recently as this month in a bid to make sure residents are happy with the scheme.

If approved on Thursday, it will mean restrictions will come into force preventing anyone without a permit from parking in the area at certain times.

The scheme had to be completely redrawn last year – despite having been approved in March – after a Government ruling prevented the county council from putting up the necessary signs.

Mark Kemp, the county council’s deputy director for environment and economy, said: “Signs for the two-hour maximum stay (with permit holders exempt) parking are non-standard and so require specific approval from the Department for Transport.”

He said it was announced that such approvals would no longer be considered and as a result they had to change the scheme. The original zone was designed to be “minimum impact” which meant it wouldn’t have required the extensive road markings a traditional CPZ involves.

Instead a new scheme has been drawn up which means that in some roads only residents with permits can park from Monday to Friday between 10am and 3pm while in others the restrictions apply every day between 10am and 5pm.

Meanwhile in other streets the restrictions apply from Monday to Friday between 10am and 5pm.

Residents have been able to decide whether they want their street to be included in the scheme and what time restrictions they would like.

Following a consultation which started in January, the county council has agreed to include roads such as Linkside Avenue and Lakeside as well as Templar Road.

County councillor for Summertown and Wolvercote Jean Fooks is paying towards the scheme through her area stewardship fund and has organised a public meeting where people can have their say on the issue.

She said: “I have been doing a certain amount of calling on people and almost everybody thinks this is an improvement and the best in the circumstances, given that we have got a lot of pressure from commuters and park users.

“The majority think they still want this and it has been a great exercise in democracy.”

A decision will be made by county councillor David Nimmo Smith, cabinet member for transport, at a public meeting in County Hall on Thursday at 11am.

s Minor amendments are due to be made to two CPZs in East Oxford. The changes would apply to the Divinity Road and Magdalen Road North CPZs. In the Divinity Road area, there are several locations where double yellow lines would be shortened or extended while in Magdalen Road North there will be a relaxation of the restrictions in Stanley Road in the evenings to allow people to visit the local mosque. s Mr Kemp has advised against a request by the Medina Mosque in Stanley Road to relax controls in the evening to allow visitors to the mosque to use spaces designated for permit holders.

The decision will be made by Cllr David Nimmo Smith.