Sir, I note that notices have been posted by the county council in roads all over North Oxford notifying us of charges for obtaining parking permits from October. If I recall correctly when the much-loathed parking permit scheme was introduced it was stated that there were "no plans to introduce charges for permits".

Anyone who challenged this thinking was given short shrift.

So, in the space of a few short years we are now faced with charges for permits to park in our own roads. For what purpose other than to raise money to be frittered? How will I and the citizens of Oxford be benefited?

I often struggle to see what I get for my council tax.

Certainly nothing much goes to mend our failing roads (not my own with its attendant potholes); pavements that bear little resemblance to a paved surface; lampposts that are on the verge of failure; the occasional road sweep (before the dustbin men come round really you couldn't make it up!); a hare-brained scheme to replace weekly dustbin collections with a fortnightly collection, with no consideration to the health or litter implications (and God help you if you fill more than one wheelie bin). Can anyone tell me?

Oh, I did read that in the last year our council staff increased by some 300 to do what precisely? Certainly nothing of value to the community like sweeping the streets, mending the roads or looking after our council houses and civic property.

Simon Jefferson, Oxford