Cowley house shortage and commuters create parking 'perfect storm'

City councillor David Henwood said the large number of houses being converted into flats in the area was exacerbating an already 'nightmare' situation for residents.

He said: "I have long called Cowley the UK's biggest park and ride due the issues we have with people leaving cars outside people's homes and then taking a bus into work in the city centre.

"When you combine that with the number of HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) it is going to cause issues."

Mr Henwood added this problem was not limited to Cowley, however, explaining: "With the affordable housing issues in Oxford there are more and more people living in HMOs."

He was responding to a plea to councillors and police from frustrated resident John Porada who said Cowley had been 'bombarded' with planning applications for HMOs.

Mr Porada, who lives in Oliver Road, said: "It is the sheer number of them in the area and the devastation that has been caused to the environment and to the safety of pedestrians and other road users due to the huge increase in parking."

Mr Porada was in particular raising issues with an application to build a new house in the garden of a property in Barbush Road, which adjoins Oliver Road, following a prior HMO approval.

He said the street was at 'breaking point' and the area could not sustain the 'strangulation' of more buildings and more parking.

The proposal has since been refused by Oxford City Council's planning committee.

Last month the city council approved the roll out of controlled parking zones (CPZs) for several areas of the city, including nearby Cowley Marsh as a high priority area, in a bid to tackle the issue.

CPZs are employed to provide sufficient car parking space for residents and to prevent other motorists from parking in places where space is at a premium.

But Mr Henwood said he worried such measures would only work in Cowley if applied everywhere, explaining: "Otherwise it will just push the problem to somewhere else."