UK council to triple parking permit costs forcing drivers to pay 'many hundreds of pounds more'

The current structure allows residents to pay daily for visitors' parking permits, a benefit which costs £5, but under the suggested changes this fee could rapidly increase to as much as £17 a day.

Official council documents state: “Circumstantial evidence suggests daily visitor permits are open to being used for purposes other than intended.

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“Typically by commuters using permits to park for the day, or by those residing in properties without entitlement to resident permits.

“The proposal is to discontinue the option for daily visitor permits for residents, who retain hourly visitor permits as an option to provide parking for visitors (consecutive hourly permits can be used for longer periods).”

The move has been met with heavy criticism from local residents who accused the council of trying to triple the cost of parking.

Residents stated the council “had not considered the impact on residents who needed to have family or friends over, or to get building work done,” according to the BBC.

One person shared: “I actually don't own a car, but my partner and I are renovating a house, and this is going to end up costing many hundreds of pounds more if this comes in, [to have] contractors come.

"It’s quoted in the [council’s] documentation as incremental. I don't think you can argue that a 164% increase is incremental.”

An informal consultation was carried out by the council earlier this year between January and February.

Councillor Scott Emery, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for transport, warned that the entire “thing reeks of dishonesty”.“What this boils down to really is just an increase in car parking visitor charges,” he said.

Meanwhile, Seema Chandwani, Haringey Council’s cabinet member for resident services and tackling inequality, added that the borough is committed to understanding residents’ needs.

She noted: "Parking spaces in London boroughs with high density like Haringey are in short supply. We want to hear from residents in Haringey through our consultation so they can have their say on our proposed changes.

"It will enable us to understand the reasons why daily visitor permits are needed and whether this proposal will benefit our borough or not.”

Last year, research revealed that UK councils issued more than 46,000 parking fines on average with four London boroughs being named in the top five, including Haringey.

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If motorists believe they have been fined unjustly, they can appeal to the authority that issued the penalty. If they are still not satisfied with the outcome, they can further appeal to an adjudicator via the independent appeals service at London Tribunals.