Thousands of people who live in Oxford and own a car are to be asked whether they want to pay for the parking permits they currently receive free of charge.

Residents of 26,000 homes in parking zones across the city will be quizzed as part of consultation into controversial plans by Oxfordshire County Council to levy a £40-per-vehicle charge.

Those affected by the scheme will receive a letter next week outlining why the authority wants to introduce charges. They will have until July 20 to respond before a decision is taken in September.

However, opponents said the Conservative-controlled county council had already made its mind up.

Residents living in 22 existing zones including Headington, Blackbird Leys, Jericho and Summertown and four new ones would be charged an annual levy of £40 a permit (for up to two cars), £80 for a third and £120 for a fourth.

If each household had one car, this would guarantee an income of £1m at a time when the authority has lost out on income of £500,000 by making on-street parking in the city centre free in the evenings and on Sundays.

On Saturday, the Oxford Mail revealed the council is planning to drive up city centre on-street parking charges to £4 a hour between 8am and 10am from Monday to Saturday some of the most expensive fees in the UK.

Green city and county councillor Sushila Dhall said: "I feel as unco-operative as any resident. It's going to be very unpopular.

"If commuters are parking free, I don't think residents should pay to make this up. I suspect the consultation is a foregone conclusion.

"They consult because they have a legal duty to do so, not because they want to listen to what anyone says."

Permits for visitors would cost 60p each, while residents in the four event-day-only parking schemes in areas around the Kassam Stadium would pay an annual fee of £10-a-year, with no charge for visitor permits.

David Robertson, the county council's cabinet member for transport, said: "If I said would you like to pay parking charges yes or no?' they would say 'no'.

"But if you talk about some of the benefits and enforcement, some people will have a different view. If I listened to objections all the time, we wouldn't do anything."

Motorist Wojciech Lubo- wieczi, of Carlton Road, Summertown, asked: "Why don't we have a referendum? This is about local democracy."

You can register comments about the proposed permit charges online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk