A TRAFFIC warden will be permanently stationed in St Giles this summer as the council cracks down on tourist coaches parking dangerously.

After concerns were raised over the parking arrangements on St Giles, a four-month enforcement trial will be launched, with a warden on duty from 10am until 6pm each day in the busy drop-off area.

The joint operation from Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council starts on Monday.

The officer will enforce and manage the set-down and collection points and help to collect information such as arrival times, routes in and out of the city and the operators, that the councils will use to come up with a long-term solution.

Owen Jenkins, Oxfordshire County Council’s director for infrastructure delivery, said: “Clearly tourists are very welcome in Oxford and we want to see that the drop-off and pick up area operates safely for the tourists and all road users, and that all coaches are able to drop-off and pick up easily. To achieve this we need to ensure that drivers move off and park up at Redbridge rather than staying in the city centre.

Tim Sadler, executive director for Sustainable City, said the councils' aim was to 'get the balance right and ensure that tourism does not impact unfairly on residents'.

He also admitted that the existing system, with the county council offering three coach drop-off points in the city centre and the city council running a coach park at Redbridge Park-and-Ride – had not always been working.