A council has been told to ‘wake up’ amid an Oxfordshire car parks row that has been raging for most of 2026.
After West Oxfordshire District Council announced plans to increase the number of spaces at Marriotts Walk Shopping Centre Car Park that are available for 12-hour stays, a leading Conservative claimed they were “tinkering around the edges”.
The local authority has agreed to consult on changes to the maximum stay on Levels 6, 7 and 8 of the car park.
If introduced, the changes would create 50 additional long-stay spaces, increasing the number of 12-hour parking spaces from 146 to 196.
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Councillor Alistair Wray, executive member for environment, said: "Marriotts Walk Car Park is well placed for people working in the town centre and those needing to spend longer in Witney, so it makes sense to explore increasing the number of spaces where people can park for up to 12 hours.”
However, while this news was welcomed by some it has been criticised by others, who are concerned about future parking provision in Oxfordshire.
In particular, there have been campaigns around Woodford Way Car Park, which is opposite Marriotts Walk, and which the district council has proposed building 55 homes on, reducing public parking from around 250 to 84 public spaces.
A spokesperson for West Oxfordshire District Council said the recent announcement was designed to ensure the shopping centre car park is working as well as possible.
They said: “Witney already benefits from a significant amount of free town centre parking, and increasing long-stay provision at Marriotts Walk will help us make better use of the spaces available while giving people more choice and flexibility.”
Liam Walker, a Conservative district and county councillor, said: “The council is tinkering around the edges while desperately trying to avoid the elephant in the car park that Woodford Way is needed now, and it will be needed even more in the future.
“Finding another 50 long-stay spaces at Marriotts Walk is welcome, but it simply doesn’t compensate for the council’s plan to dramatically reduce parking at Woodford Way.”
He explained that the issue was particularly important considering the 18,000 new homes that have been earmarked for the district before 2043.
He added: “The council needs to wake up to the reality that Woodford Way is part of Witney’s future, not a convenient development site.”
The Witney Chamber of Commerce is also sceptical about plans for car parking provision and has called for additional data to be collected about Woodford Way and Marriotts Walk.
Adrian Bullock, chair, said: “We would point out the Marriotts Walk car park opens at 7am so anyone that starts work at 7am or earlier cannot benefit from this change in provision whereas Woodford Way is open 24/7 which is why it is likely used so much.”
He added that 90 per cent of those who responded to its survey on transport in the town said there was not a surplus of parking provision.
Councillor Andrew Coles was supportive of West Oxfordshire District Council’s Marriotts Walk proposals and the local authority’s wider car park plans.
The Labour politician said: “I welcome this proposal to help address the current under-usage of the Marriott's Walk multi-storey car park.
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“As a regular user of the car park myself, I see first-hand how much it is currently under occupied, particularly on the middle and upper floors.
“With around 70 public spaces remaining at Woodford Way and plenty of capacity in the numerous car parks in the town centre, Witney is well placed to meet the needs of local people and visitors."
The district council added: “We will continue to look at opportunities to improve parking provision across Witney and make sure the spaces available are being used as effectively as possible.”
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