THE slashing of all-day rates at Oxpens car park has been welcomed by city centre businesses.

But traders say more needs to be done to make it easier for shoppers to visit the city.

The all-day permits introduced at Oxpens allow a limited number of people to park on weekdays for £8 – a huge two-thirds reduction on the previous price of £23.

Oxford City Council said the move was mainly aimed at people working in the city who currently parked on the streets or made other arrangements.

Michael Keirs, who runs Arcadia bookshop in St Michael’s Street and has traded in the city centre for 40 years, said he was pleased but that more should be done.

He said: “Any initiative to decrease the cost of parking is welcome.

“It is primarily for people who are working here.

“I can immediately say it will not benefit trade because people will not be here for more than a few hours – you would have to be a shopaholic to stay all day.

“I think it is a good gesture from the council but I am not sure how well it will work in practice.

“We need to give it a bit of time to see how it has worked.”

In 2015 Oxpens car park was used by 212,173 customers, but was only 40 per cent full on average on weekdays.

On weekends it was almost always full.

In December, Covered Market Traders’ Association secretary Sandie Griffith called for free parking on selected days to help traders after it was revealed the city council made £4.9m from charges in 2014.

She welcomed the new discount at Oxpens but said more needed to be done.

She said: “Any cuts the council makes to parking are a step in the right direction.

“You should never look a gift horse in the mouth but it is a shame there are restrictions on it – not everybody comes in to shop all day.

“If they were cutting the prices on a four-hour basis it would be better. But any moves the council makes are beneficial.

“The new prices will benefit people using it for work.”

The discounted tickets must be purchased online in advance and the number is limited to 160 out of the 420 spaces.

There will be no changes to prices at any of the city council’s other car parks or at Redbridge, Seacourt and Pear Tree park-and-rides, which it also runs.

Council board member for transport Alex Hollingsworth said: “The aim is to offer a little bit of a discount for our longer stay parking customers.

“It is aimed at people coming into Oxford for business.

“It is about providing a better service to people who are already coming to the city and provide a better alternative to, for example, parking in the street or making other arrangements.”