Consultation on greener parking charges

Croydon residents are being encouraged to have their final say on council proposals to charge for parking based on how green or polluting drivers’ cars are.

From January 2021, Croydon Council plans to introduce a sliding scale of emissions-based parking charges, with higher costs for drivers with more polluting vehicles and substantial discounts for the greenest cars.

Last year the council introduced emissions-based charging for streets with resident permits, and now the proposal is to also extend this to on-street parking and car parks across the borough.

The parking charges would be based on three pricing bands – electric vehicles; standard cars using petrol, or diesel engines introduced since September 2015; and a third category of vehicles that produce the most carbon dioxide per kilometre, or more than 185 grams per kilometre.

The lowest parking charges would be for vehicles producing less than one gram of CO2 per kilometre, mostly electric ones.

If introduced, parking charges for zero-emission vehicles would be reduced by about 90%, while charges for the highest emission vehicles would be increased by 30%.

If the scheme is approved this year, the scheme would take effect from 1 January. For more information and to give your feedback, visit the council website.

The proposal also includes converting the 30-minute and one-hour free Pay & Display parking bays in district centres to two-hour maximum charged parking to align with the new emissions-based charging scheme, reduce inconsiderate parking and make the spaces more available to more drivers.

The proposed changes would not affect residential, business and other parking permits; disabled Blue Badge parking; spaces that are signposted as having unlimited free parking; charges associated with parking bay suspensions; or School Street access permits.

“This is the next step in the council’s long-term plan to tackle air pollution, reduce the harm to people’s health and improve our local environment for everyone.

“It’s about encouraging more people to consider their alternatives to driving each and every single journey, whether that means walking, cycling, taking public transport or even – if you can – switching to a less polluting car. If you have feedback on these proposals that are designed to make our borough a greener place, now is the time to get in touch.”

Councillor Stuart King, cabinet lead for transport and the environment

Croydon Council is introducing a number of initiatives to tackle the climate emergency and improve air quality in the borough. This includes sustainable heating in council blocks, a significant increase in the number of electric vehicle charging points installed by 2022 and increasing the recycling rate to around 50%.

2020-10-01T17:04:16+01:00 October 1st, 2020|Recent news|