Sir, I can quite understand the anger of Oxford residents at the county council's proposals to introduce parking charges: nobody wants to start paying for something which until now was free.

But there is one issue - I believe an important issue - which I haven't seen enter the debate. This is the environmental issue. Many Oxford residents seem to have transformed what were often attractive, blooming front gardens into a parking lot.

This has happened to whole streets here in North Oxford. I can only see parking charges accelerating this trend across the city, thus detracting from the beauty of our streets. Surely the county council should have more interest in maintaining the attractiveness of one of the world's unique cities, than in making a 'nice little earner' from parking charges?

After all, don't they keep saying how environmentally- conscious they are? You can't trim a rose bush without the Thought Police turning up.

Nigel Clarke, Oxford