Emissions Based Parking Charges Approved
Council says new rates will reduce cost for 80% of residents
The new charges would apply only for parking using the Ringgo system
January 10, 2023
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has approved plans to charge diesel drivers £2.50 more to park on its streets. A meeting on Monday night (10 January) green lit changes to parking charges that will be based on engine type.
The scheme, which the council says will slash parking charges for up to 80 per cent of residents, but mean those with older, high-emission vehicles will face the same fees – passed in a unanimous vote by councillors. The local authority hopes that the move will help residents with the cost-of-living crisis and help the council to achieve its net carbon zero 2030 target.
Labour council leader Stephen Cowan praised the scheme, which he claimed would cut the cost of parking “in real terms”. He said during the Cabinet meeting, “We recognise the economy has been extremely badly managed over the last 12 years, and in particular during the Truss regime, and we now have the worst inflation we’ve had since Margaret Thatcher put measures in place to counter inflation some time ago.
“But it’s worth taking into account that this is not just a cut in real terms, it’s an actual cut. Significantly more than anyone has ever made to parking charges” in the council’s history, he claimed.
“Clearly the big challenge – and talk to any young person – is that climate change is going to change the way the 21st century is played and is, so far, just beginning to be understood by most people in the public. Two ways to tackle climate change is to limit the way people drive and also to encourage people to transport around with cleaner transport like cycling”.
Deputy leader Ben Coleman said the measures were being introduced after the borough “was being used like a parking lot”. He said, “A lot of residents made a representation about that and we have a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2030 and we’re trying to bring this all together.”
The measures are expected to take effect by the end of March this year.
Under the proposals, electric vehicles will be charged £2.50 per hour to park in the borough while ULEZ-compliant vehicles will see fares cut from £5 per hour to £3.50 per hour or £4.25 per hour depending on their CO2 emissions. Payment will
A £6 per hour charge will be applied to vehicles not meeting ULEZ standards. Diesel drivers will be charged an extra £1 per hour surcharge due to the “extremely negative impact of diesel vehicles on air quality.”
At the height of the Covid pandemic, Hammersmith and Fulham Council introduced higher parking charges to put off out-of-borough motorists driving into London from the A3, M4 and M40.
Residents have told councillors and officers that they have felt put off from visiting friends and services by the high cost of parking. The report added that older and disabled residents have been particularly impacted by the high charges.
Jacob Phillips - Local Democracy Reporter
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |