Parking enforcement across Croydon will be gradually reintroduced from next week to help keep the borough’s roads clear and safe, as lockdown eases.
Parking rules and charges were relaxed to help key workers and residents during lockdown, but from the afternoon of Tuesday, 26 May drivers will be able to apply for new permits and pay and display machines will be reactivated.
From Monday 8 June, parking enforcement across the borough will resume and those parking illegally, or failing to display valid permits or parking tickets risk being issued with a fine.
Relaxed restrictions for blue badge holders and key workers registered through their employer will continue until further notice.
The reintroduction of enforcement comes as Croydon’s roads are expected to become busier as more people return to work and some pupils return to school, and will help to ensure routes in Croydon are safe for all road users and those walking and cycling.
To help residents whose finances may have been impacted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the council has introduced a new, one-month permit option. Drivers applying for a renewed 12-month permit will receive up to three free months in addition to the 12 they pay for to cover valid permits they held while restrictions were lifted.
The council is now contacting all drivers with a permit expiring between Monday 23 March and Tuesday 30 June to inform them they can apply to renew their permit.
All new permits will be issued in line with the council’s new emissions-based charges, which rewards motorists with less-polluting vehicles. Introduced for residents’ permits last year, drivers with vehicles producing less CO2 per km travelled will pay less for their permits.
Drivers renewing or buying new permits for diesel vehicles registered before September 2015, will now have to pay a surcharge of between £16 and £50, depending on the duration of the permit. The charge, which formed part of a consultation on the new permit scheme last year targets the most polluting vehicles.
“As lockdown begins to lift, residents return to work, and children to school, more people will be using Croydon’s roads, so we are reintroducing parking enforcement across the borough, to help keep all roads users and pedestrians safe.
“As we continue to introduce our emissions-based charging scheme, drivers with older diesel vehicles will now need to pay a surcharge for their permits, but we can now also offer an element of flexibility to residents that need it through the introduction of new one month permits and by giving up to three extra months on a year-long permit.”
Councillor Stuart King, cabinet lead for environment and transport
More information on the new emissions based permits is available online.