OFFICIALS have defended a 40 percent price hike for a Residential Parking Permit on a Cirencester street saying it is still one of the cheapest in the country.

Residents of Purley Road, Cirencester, contacted the Standard after being informed by Cotswold District Council of the annual charge for the permits would go up from £13 to £20.

Nearby Cecily Hill, The Avenue and St Peter's Road all had the annual charge increased from £50 to £55 which represents a ten percent increase.

The charge is significantly more on these roads as parking is permitted for up to two hours on Purley Road without a permit.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "This is quite expensive because we are all quite old on Purley Road.

"If they put the car parking fees in the town up by 40 percent people would go ballistic."

A spokesman for CDC said: "On-street parking charges for Residential Parking Permits are set by Gloucestershire County Council, and Cotswold District Council will then act as the enforcement agent for these charges.

"The county council has benchmarked its charges against dozens of other authorities, and has found out that it offers one of the cheapest residential parking schemes in the country, especially in a rural area such as the Cotswolds which has longer routes between centres.

"The annual £20 charge for an RPP in Purley Road, Cirencester, amounts to an overall daily charge of just under 7 pence, from Monday to Saturday, for the whole 52 weeks of the year."