Sir, So Oxford city councillors are likely to spend thousands of pounds of community charge payers' money on a legal challenge to the county council's proposals to make residents pay for car parking permits (Report, September 22). Why? What is wrong with asking people to pay what, in the context of the costs of running a car, is a trifling amount to park one in the city? As a reminder that car ownership and use is one of the main reasons our beautiful city is frequently a congested, dangerous, noisy and polluted place, this charge seems a good thing. Not to mention reinforcing the knowledge that cars, as a private good, are contributing hugely to greenhouse gases and climate change and so causing the loss of public goods such as bio-diversity, habitable land and traditional patterns of rainfall and temperatures.

Amanda Root (Dr), Oxford