First parking permit hike in more than a decade causing a stir in Hammersmith and Fulham

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

A petition calling for ‘fair’ parking permit pricing in Hammersmith and Fulham looks set to be debated by cabinet after receiving hundreds of signatures.

The petition, which also includes demands regarding consultations on future costs, comes after council-approved increases to parking permits were introduced in February.

The new charges, which were agreed by the council’s cabinet last October, represent the west London borough’s first hike since 2012.

The Labour-run local authority has said the increases are designed to encourage people away from driving higher-emitting vehicles.

Cllr Jose Afonso, the Conservative opposition spokesman, however, accused the administration of using residents as a ‘cash cow’.

The proposal agreed by cabinet members last year shifted resident parking permits to an emissions-based charging model.

A diesel surcharge is also included in the plans plus an additional fee for second vehicles. Permits for EVs, electric vehicles, also cost for the first time.

Under the previous scheme, resident permits were either £119 a year or £60 for vehicles producing 75g/km of CO2 or less. For second vehicles, there was a flat fee of £497, while EVs were free.

Under the new model, annual charges range from £125 to £340 depending on the emissions produced. Diesel and second vehicles cost more.

Cllr Stephen Cowan, leader of the council, said the proposal was designed to support the borough’s efforts to hit its climate change objectives.

The implementation of the new charges last month has led to a flurry of posts on platforms such as Nextdoor, opposing the costs.

A petition, begun by Stefan du Maurier, has received more than 600 signatures on Change.org at the time of writing. The same petition hosted on the council’s website has received around half of that number.

This however has taken it past the 250 needed for it to be debated by cabinet. If it gets to 5,000 or more, it will be debated by full council. It is due to run until May 10.

The petition lists two key demands – that parking permits are reduced to align with inflation, which a Bank of England calculator suggests in December would have been £167.93 based on the £119 figure introduced in 2012, and that certain conditions must be met before any further pricing structures are implemented.

Cllr Afonso, who also sits on the local authority’s climate and ecology committee, said: “We are completely opposed to these rises. Labour should not be using residents as a cash cow, nor should they be penalising those who have opted for greener EVs. This policy will only increase hardship in the area, especially for cash-strapped families who depend on cars.”

Cllr Sharon Holder, cabinet member for the public realm, said: “Resident parking permit charges in Hammersmith and Fulham have been frozen for 13 years, with no increase in line with inflation during that period.

“This first rise in charges in all that time is designed to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution by introducing a new emissions-based banding system, with higher charges for the highest-polluting vehicles.

“Hammersmith and Fulham is the tenth worst area in England for air pollution – with 7.4 per cent of deaths in the borough linked to toxic air. Road pollution is the biggest culprit and doing nothing is not an option.

“Parking income is ring fenced and legislation dictates that it can only be used on highway, transportation and public realm improvement initiatives. The notion that the changes to the charges are a ‘cash cow’ is plainly false.”

Several other London councils have in recent years implemented emissions-based parking schemes including Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea.

Picture: @YTJourno