Green Not Greed Say Community Group

Engine size should determine parking permit cost

Community candidate for the Brentford and Isleworth constituency Councillor Phil Andrews has called for an "environmentally-friendly" approach to parking permit charges in Hounslow borough to replace the current system.

At present parking permits have different prices depending on where you live which most residents of Chiswick complain is biased against them in favour of the western end of the London Borough of Hounslow. Permit charges at £65 per annum for a first car are almost twice as high as other areas.

Council leaders admit that almost 75% of its parking revenue is raised in the Chiswick area.

Councillor Andrews believes not only that parking charges throughout the borough should be fair, but also that they should be used to help bring about a cleaner environment by encouraging the use of smaller, more economical vehicles.

"Parking charges throughout the borough should be based on vehicle size rather than on geographical location," he said this week. "If ability to pay is to be the yardstick, then this is more likely to be determined by the size of the vehicle rather than where the owner happens to reside. Such a policy would be both progressive and environmentally-friendly."

This year's Hounslow Council budget made provision to reduce the parking charge in the Chiswick area further but there are no plans as yet to standardise rates across the borough.

April 29, 2005