Oxfordshire County Council has been forced to rethink increasing rush hour parking charges in Oxford.

County Hall transport chief David Robertson had been poised to rubber stamp a review of on-street parking tariffs yesterday, which would have seen city centre charges rise to some of the most expensive in the UK.

Last weekend the Oxford Mail revealed that on-street charges were set to rise from £1.50 to £4 an hour between 8am and 10am Monday to Saturday more expensive than the London boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster to discourage morning commuters.

The increases nearly 170 per cent were set to be agreed when the county council's transport implementation met yesterday.

There was also a proposal for the price of a two-hour stay to rise to £5.

But Mr Robertson said he was forced into a rethink after realising it could have driven Saturday morning shoppers out of Oxford.

A final decision will now be taken on July 20.

Mr Robertson, cabinet member for transport, said: "One of the things I had not looked at was Saturday mornings being different to weekdays that only occurred to me at the last minute.

"If we are to make this decision we need to get it absolutely right.

"We have received a number of varying opinions in recent days and I want to pause and take the time to absorb them all.

"I also want to explore issues around Saturday parking and whether any new pricing should be applied to all streets including those not in the central area of the city, but on the fringes.

Meanwhile, the committee yesterday agreed to make its experimental free on-street city centre evening and Sunday parking permanent.

Mr Robertson said: "The general principles with on-street parking still apply.

"We still want to encourage more people to use park-and-ride at the busiest times of day, while giving out the message that coming into the city with your car in the evenings and on Sundays is more acceptable."