- Diesel vehicles will incur an extra £50 surcharge for residential permits
- If more than one vehicle is registered to a property they will be fined £100
A Labour-run council is charging motorists extra to park polluting cars in a double blow for those about to be hit by the expansion of London‘s hated Ulez fee.
There are fears that other Labour-run councils will follow suit after Greenwich in South-East London decided to base its pay-and-display and resident-permit charges on a vehicle’s carbon emissions. Drivers of older petrol and diesel cars must pay nearly three times as much as owners of expensive electric vehicles.
Diesel vehicles will incur an extra £50 surcharge for residential permits, and if there is more than one vehicle registered to a property, each one will be subject to a £100 penalty.
The new fees, which will apply from tomorrow, come amid growing fury about the decision by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to spread his Ultra-low emission zone from the city centre to all parts of the capital.
The £12.50 daily Ulez fee applies to older petrol and diesel vehicles made before 2015, and will hit hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed motorists who cannot afford to buy a newer, cleaner vehicle.
Minister for London Paul Scully said: ‘It’s literally forcing people to pay for emissions when they’re not driving their car. As usual it will punish the poor first and foremost.
‘If you drive a big expensive gas- guzzler, chances are you have a drive or garage, so don’t need a permit. The people who will really suffer are the ones who can’t afford a big enough house and a modern, less-polluting vehicle.
‘Taxing people for parking makes absolutely no sense. These charges won’t make the air cleaner, they will just fill the coffers of a greedy council.
‘The danger is this will start spreading to other boroughs and areas of the country. If they want people to drive cleaner electric cars they need to encourage gradual change, rather than punishing people who can’t afford them.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls to force Mr Khan to delay the Ulez expansion. Senior Tories said he should ‘get off the fence’ and protect the extra motorists affected by the Ulez levy from August 29.
Last week, the High Court backed the extension of Ulez into outer London – a move that could lead to similar schemes elsewhere in Britain. Sir Keir has refused to say whether the zone should expand, claiming it is not a ‘simple political decision’. He remained silent after Friday’s court ruling.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led MPs and campaigners in urging him to make Mr Khan postpone the levy or ditch it. But the mayor insists the scheme is needed to tackle air pollution.
From tomorrow, all parking in Greenwich must be paid for using the PayByPhone app. Motorists enter their car registration, and the app checks DVLA records to identify their vehicle.
Vehicles are in 13 emission bands based on how much carbon dioxide they emit. For example, someone driving an electric Tesla will pay £2.45 an hour in some areas, or £20 a year for a resident permit. But an older car or van costs £7 an hour, or £300 a year for a permit, plus £50 if it’s diesel.
Labour councillor Averil Lekau, deputy leader of Greenwich council, said: ‘Strong action like this is essential to protecting the health and wellbeing of residents and tackling the detrimental impact poor air quality and carbon emissions have on our environment.
‘These changes will encourage residents and businesses to embrace environmentally friendly ways to travel.’
