Hammersmith and Fulham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A petition demanding fair parking permit prices in Hammersmith & Fulham is set for debate by Cabinet after gaining hundreds of signatures from local residents.
Following the introduction of council-approved hikes to parking permits in February, the petition also includes requests for consultations on future charges.
The council’s Cabinet approved the higher fees in October of last year, marking the borough of West London’s first increase since 2012.
The increases, according to the Labour-run local council, are intended to deter individuals from driving cars with higher emissions.
However, the Conservative opposition spokesperson, Cllr. Jose Afonso, charged that the administration was exploiting the people as a “cash cow.” Last year, Cabinet members approved a plan that changed resident parking permits to an emissions-based payment system.
The plans also contain a diesel tax, and second vehicles incur an extra cost. Electric vehicle (EV) permits also cost for the first time.
For cars that produced 75g/km of CO2 or less, resident permits were either £119 per year or £60 under the old arrangement.
While EVs were free, second-hand cars had a set price of £497. Depending on the emissions generated, the new model’s annual fees range from £125 to £340.
Second Hand cars and diesel are more expensive.
At the Cabinet meeting in October Cllr Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, leader of the opposition, asked: “Where is the research into the economic impact on shops and businesses if everyone has to pay so much more to park and so on and so forth?
What revenue are you getting at the moment from having residents’ parking permits at that cost and residents/visitors parking? And how much additional revenue are you expecting?”
The idea, according to council leader Cllr. Stephen Cowan, was created to help the borough meet its climate change goals.
He said to Cllr Brocklebank-Fowler:
“You know the law as well as we do. You never alter parking charges for money. You alter them to make changes to other policies; traffic flows, environmental measures, and the such.”
There have been a lot of remarks on websites like Nextdoor criticizing the additional fees since they were implemented last month. As of this writing, a petition started by Stefan du Maurier has amassed over 600 signatories on Change.org.
About half of those people have responded to the same petition that is displayed on the Hammersmith and Fulham council’s website. However, this has raised it above the 250 threshold required for Cabinet discussion.
The Full Council will consider it if it reaches 5,000 or more. It is scheduled to conclude on May 10.
What are the two key demands in the petition?
Two main demands are listed in the petition: that parking permits be lowered to reflect inflation, which, according to a Bank of England calculator in December, would have been £167.93 based on the £119 figure introduced in 2012; and that specific requirements be fulfilled before any additional pricing structures are put into place.
These include establishing an “independent body of residents” to co-approve any questions in the consultation and requiring a minimum of 250 replies, with over 51% of respondents supporting any future changes.
He started the petition “out of frustration, “Mr. du Maurier told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), adding that he thinks homeowners and drivers are “always the easy touch to squeeze money out of.”
Cllr Afonso, who also sits on the local authority’s Climate Change and Ecology Policy and Accountability 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. We will be attending Cabinet to support residents and hold the administration accountable.”
Are Hammersmith & Fulham new parking charges a fair move or a cash grab?
Cllr Sharon Holder, Cabinet Member for the Public Realm, said that 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.
He said:
“Hammersmith and Fulham is the tenth worst area in England for air pollution – with 7.4 percent of deaths in the borough linked to toxic air. Road pollution is the biggest culprit and doing nothing is not an option.
These changes will lead to an increase in the use of cleaner and greener vehicles, as well as encourage more people to cycle, walk and use public transport.
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.”
Additionally, the council cites a parking census survey in which about 7,000 residents reportedly participated.
The statement that “parking charges should be used to reduce the number of higher polluting vehicles in the borough” was found to be supported or strongly supported by 49.18% of respondents, while 35.38% disagreed and 15.45% were neutral.
In recent years, a number of other London authorities, such as Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, have put emissions-based parking schemes into place. In the meantime, the City of London Corporation approved comparable fees for its own parking lots.