Parking Charges
There isn’t much to add to what they have said. Increasing the council tax by the maximum allowed will be followed by increases in residential parking charges. Remember those free 30 parking permits a year, for visitors? They’ve gone too. Apparently, they contributed to traffic congestion, (see penultimate para).
Here’s what it says on the Newham website.
You will note that the word ‘fair’ appears three times in the first three paragraphs. It's almost as if by repeating it they can convince you of it.
Apparently, this is all in line with the mayor’s response to the climate emergency, but all costs are going up, including those of smaller vehicles.
If you are of a slightly more cynical nature, you might believe that this is just another way of squeezing cash out of residents because the mayor cannot control her spending.
The London Borough of Newham’s 2023/24 parking tariffs for Residents, Visitors and Businesses aim to offer fairer parking to those in need of parking within the borough.
The Council considers that its 2023/24 parking tariffs for residents, visitors and businesses continue to offer fair parking charges to those in need of parking within Newham.
The Council aims to maintain the balance between providing convenient and fairer parking for our residents, visitors and businesses whilst managing demand at peak times and reducing the environmental impact of traffic in line with our Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan.
Following a review of the Council’s parking fees and charges, a new charging structure for permits, visitor permits and paid parking sessions has been agreed. This is to ensure that whilst the Council continue to experience rising costs due to the cost of living crisis and its impact on the economy, it can continue to meet the high cost of managing and maintaining our roads and designated parking spaces, which in turn allows the Council to be still able to provide residents and motorists with the same level service currently available to them.
Parking fees and charges play an important role in influencing driver behaviour and can positively impact air quality and congestion. They also support the Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan, which is intended to reduce harmful emissions.
The changes to the Council’s parking tariffs, including a move towards emissions-based parking for visitor permits and paid parking sessions, were agreed by members at a Cabinet meeting in December 2022. After which, the statutory requirements for advertising the tariff changes will be fulfilled and displayed in the affected car parks and an advertisement in the local newspaper.
The changes to the Council’s parking tariffs, including a move towards emissions-based parking for visitor permits and paid parking sessions, were agreed upon by Councillors at a Cabinet meeting in December 2022. In May 2023, the statutory requirements for advertising the tariff changes will be displayed in the affected car parks and in an advertisement in the local newspaper.
To see the new parking tariffs please go to www.newham.gov.uk/emissionsbasedcharging; this will enable you to identify which method of parking best suits your needs. Newham’s best value parking offers are available using either the MiPermit app for permits or PaybyPhone for Paid Parking Sessions.
Driving and transport for disabled people
The Council is committed to continuing support for those residents with disabilities, whose only option is to use their motor vehicle to enable them to travel around the borough. A number of concessions remain in place for Blue Badge holders – who can apply for a designated free resident disabled parking bay. Find out details on our parking for disabled parking page.
Breakdown of changes to parking charges from 8 August 2023
The changes taking place support the Council’s continuing efforts to tackle the climate emergency by reducing emissions in line with the Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan and encouraging the use of alternatives to motor vehicles. They will also make our Mipermit system easier for users and more efficient. The key changes are:
The realignment of our tiering structure to a five-tier emissions-based charging structure for all parking tariffs (residents, business, staff business, visitors and paid-for parking sessions). This tiering structure aligns with current resident permits, replacing the current 4-tier system for business, charity and industrial permits.
A variation on the charging structure for electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are better for the environment but cause some pollution. These pollutants come from matter released by brakes and tyres and the process of creating and recycling car batteries. Electric vehicles also take up parking spaces and can contribute to congestion within Newham. This also covers the administrative cost of processing the permit.
The Introduction of a new 1-month permit replacing 3 and 6-month permits to support permit holders who require the flexibility of a shorter permit; this permit will be renewable for 11 months before the permit holder has to reapply and upload any supporting documentation.
From 8th August 2023, a maximum of 240 resident visitor permits can be purchased in a yearly cycle. Once the limit has been exceeded, the resident is unable to apply for additional visitor permits within that calendar year. The allocation resets on the anniversary of when it is obtained each year by the applicant. For example if an allocation is obtained on the 17 August 2023, a new allocation will be available from 17 August 2024.
In order to purchase the new emissions-based visitor permits, residents will be required to log-in to their Mipermit account and click on buy digital permits; selecting the visitor permit option and following the steps. This will allow you to gain access to the permits allocated to your residential address, at this stage you will be required to upload a proof of address. Once the registration has been completed, you will be able to access the emissions-based visitor permits.
From 8th August 2023 visitor permits will be based and will be sold individually and not in blocks of 5 or 10 as they are at present Visitor permits will be available in 6-hour, 12-hour or 24-hour permit (a 24-hour parking permit ends at the same time the next day, i.e. after 24 hours have elapsed). When a permit is purchased a check will be made against the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) to let you know which tier the vehicle falls within and what the cost of the visitor permit will be.
The Council will no longer offer 30 free visitor permits from 8 August 2023, which were available to some households due to all permits being emissions based. This is in line with the Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan, which helps to reduce traffic and congestion and encourages walking within the borough and the use of public transport and encourages alternative sustainable methods of travelling borough-wide.
The higher the CO2 emissions of the visitor’s vehicle, the higher the charge. This is consistent with the existing Resident Permits and the Council considers this to be a fairer system as it ensures all residents and visitors vehicles are treated in the same way,