Hounslow Council Expands Emissions Based Parking Charges
More bands introduced and CPZs and motorcycles now included
Motorcycles will no longer be able to park for free in the borough. Picture: Garry Knight
July 19, 2024
Hounslow Council’s cabinet has voted to move forward with a new parking and kerbside strategy which will see significant changes to car and motorcycle parking charges across the borough.
Although some motorists may pay less others could see the cost of their annual residents’ permit rise by over £40 and, for the first time, motorcyclists will be charged for parking.
At a meeting on Tuesday (16 July) a revised Parking Fees and Permits Schedule, including the expansion of emissions-based charging, was approved.
The council says it wants to align charges with other boroughs and encourage a move towards less polluting vehicles. Whether a motorist will pay more or less as a result of the changes depends on the type of vehicle they own but the council has projected that the new fee structure would increase its parking revenue by £1.2million per annum assuming parking demand remains the same and no change in the type of vehicle owned.
There is already emissions-based charging from Pay By Phone parking in the borough but there will now be 7 charging bands as opposed to three currently and charges will rise for all vehicles but zero and very low emission one which will pay the same as now. Electric cars and bikes would be in the lower category and cars such as larger Land Rovers and Range Rovers, the Porsche Cayenne, the BMW X6 M and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class are likely to be in the top category.
Hounslow Council New Emission Charge Bands
1- 0 g/km
2- 1 to 75 g/km
3- 76 to 100 g/km
4- 101 to 130 g/km
5- 131 to 170 g/km
6- 171 to 225 g/km
7- Over 226 g/km
These seven bands will be extended across all permit types including CPZs, season tickets and business permits plus motorcycle parking will no longer be free and will also be charged according to emissions. These will also now be subject to a diesel surcharge.
The changes to Resident Permit Charges could see some motorists with a lower emission vehicle pay a reduced fee but others could see the annual cost rise from £90.25 to £140.00. Drivers of diesels and diesel hybrids will face an additional surcharge of £75.00 up from £67.50 meaning that some motorists could be paying £215 for a permit.
Motorcycles can currently be parked for free and without time limit in resident permit bays, shared use bays and dedicated motorcycle bays. Payment is needed to use on-street Pay by Phone bays and outside of dedicated motorcycle bays in car parks. .Emissions based charges and a diesel surcharge will be now be applied. Where the payment system is unable to recognise the CO2 emissions of a motorcycle on application, the engine size will be used.
Resident motorcycle permits will be priced at £20.00 less than a car permit in the corresponding band. A diesel surcharge will be applied, at half that for resident car permits.
Motorcycle bays will be charged at an hourly rate of £0.80 to £2.20 depending on the emission banding of the bike.
The council is also proposing to trial virtual permits for all kinds of permits including those for visitors. This is to be introduced over a two-year transition period with all paper permits withdrawn at the end.
These changes are separate from the usual annual review of fees and tariffs that are applied at the start of each financial year.
Seven emissions bandings are proposed. For most payment/permit types, charges for Band 4 (101-130 g/km) correspond with current standard charges. An annual review of bandings and the associated pricing structure will be undertaken.
The council report to the cabinet about the proposed parking strategy admits disappointment in the number of responses with fewer than 300 residents responding. Over a quarter of responses came from the Chiswick area and 23% were from Isleworth (TW7) with Brentford (TW8) in third place with 12%. Almost half the respondents were aged between 50 and 69. 81% of those responding were white compared to 44% for the whole of Hounslow.
Those that did respond, did not endorse increasing the number of emissions-based charging bands with just 28% saying they would be happy/very happy with such changes and 47% unhappy/very unhappy. There was a similar response when asked about the diesel surcharge with 49% opposed and 29% in favour. The report noted that people under 50 tended to be more supportive of the expansion of the number of bands and the diesel surcharge.
The Kerbside Strategy report stated that the council would consider allowing another operator to rent dockless cycles in the borough to ensure prices remained competitive. It said that Lime bikes had reached a new record of 81,000 trips in June and compliance with parking rules now averages 95% as users became familiar with the restrictions.
Changes proposed through the new Parking Strategy will be introduced over the coming years, starting from September 2024.
Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Recycling and Transformation, Cllr Shivraj Grewal, said, “We recognise that the car remains an important mode of transport for residents of our borough and visitors to Hounslow. However, faced with the ongoing challenges of climate change and the need to improve air quality in our borough, it is clear that changes must be made.
“The Council is committed to improving the health, wellbeing and quality of life for all residents of our borough.
“Reviewing our parking plans and introducing initiatives that incentivise the use of cleaner transport options marks a significant step towards a greener, more sustainable future for our borough.”
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. |