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| Simon Lewis is furious that the council has started charging cleaners to park. |
New charge rules 'a tax on contractors' - Contractors parking their vans and cars in the city centre have been hit with a new charge costing hundreds of pounds a year. Until April, private contractors working in the city could park for free in restricted parking areas if they applied for a permit. But under a new rule introduced by Oxfordshire County Council, they now must apply for a £16-a-week permit for each of their vehicles. Simon Lewis, who has worked as a window cleaner in the city centre for more than 20 years, described it as a tax on contractors. Mr Lewis – who employs three other people and has two vans – had previously parked in Cornmarket Street during the hours of 6am and 10am for free.
He said: “It’s absolute tosh. As far as I’m concerned it’s a money-making scheme by the council. This is a council whose new leader said he wanted to help small business, and this is the council’s way of doing it. “I’m trying to deliver a service but I’m being discriminated against. “I’ve worked in the city for more than 20 years and I have watched it being slowly destroyed by the councils in charge of it. “As far I’m concerned the city of Oxford is dying a very slow and painful death. “I need my van to be near me while I am working, I can’t carry all of the equipment from the car park, and I have had equipment stolen in the past. This is a stealth tax which could see me paying £1,500 a year just to do my job.”
Phil West, of DF Williams Cleaning Services Ltd, based in Magdalen Road, has worked in the city centre since 1978. He said the county council had not told him anything of the changes. He said: “I am waiting to be prosecuted then I will put it in the hands of lawyers. “No one has told us anything. “There are no signs up or anything. “What if someone comes in from outside the city. “What will they do? How will they know?”
Oxfordshire County Council said contractors had always needed permission to park in restricted zones such as Cornmarket Street, and the charges it had levied for the permit were more lenient than other areas. Spokesman Owen Morton said: “On April 1 the county council introduced a £16 flat-rate charge for contractors seeking to park in restricted zones in Oxford city for up to a week. “During the six months leading up to April 1, traders applying for a free permit were being informed about the new charge coming in. “Letters explaining the new arrangement were also sent out to around 1,000 contractors known to have applied for parking permission in recent years.
“As such, every effort has been made to alert as many local traders as possible to the changes coming in. We also allowed a two-week grace period for any traders not displaying a valid permit. “Similar charges have long been levied by other councils across the country, and in some cases these charges are significantly higher.” Ian Hudspeth, Oxfordshire County Council’s new leader, was unavailable to comment last night.
Window cleaner in two police chases through Burnley jailed: A window cleaner who sparked two police chases within two weeks and almost ran down an officer has been jailed for a year. Police believe Darren Stewart, 28, had been drunk both times when he was chased in his works Transit van around Burnley town centre. Stewart, of Highfield Crescent, Barrowford, admitted two counts of dangerous driving and one of failing to provide a specimen. He was banned for three years and must take an extended retest.
Sarah Statham, prosecuting, said at 10.50pm, on January 6, police started to follow the defendant after he went round a roundabout at speed. He was all over the road and weaving from left to right on Trafalgar Street and officers thought he might have been drinking. As he approached Gannow Top roundabout other vehicles had to take evasive action, he went through red lights, skidded on a left hand bend and almost had a crash.
Stewart swerved sharply into Accrington Road, the van stopped outside a pub, two passengers got out and three officers went towards the vehicle. He then drove off at speed and an officer had to jump out of the way. The defendant mounted the kerb, made off and police lost him. An officer who had got to the open driver's window before Stewart sped off said he appeared drunk, his eyes were glazed and he looked vacant. The defendant was arrested the day after and claimed he had had one pint to drink.
Miss Statham said Stewart appeared in court on January 17 and at 2.10am the next day one of the officers recognised the van being driven from Padiham to Burnley, at speed. She and her colleague followed in an unmarked vehicle.
The defendant turned sharply into a residential street and mounted the pavement. A marked police car took up the pursuit using its lights and sirens. Stewart drove erratically down various streets. The van then drove towards the unmarked police vehicle, did a U-turn and drove at the marked vehicle, forcing the driver to have to make a quick reverse. The van was abandoned nearby and Stewart was detained a short distance away. The defendant, who had 19 previous convictions, was questioned the day after and largely made no comment.
Philip Holden, for Stewart, said fortunately there were no accidents and the driving was over a relatively short distance. The offences appeared to have been an extreme reaction to the death of the defendant's mother, last December.
