Parking Consultation on Permit Charges and Surcharges - Frequently Asked Questions

• Can you explain the proposals in more detail?
  • A proposed standard £10 increase across all existing parking permit charge bands
  • An £80 surcharge on diesel fuelled vehicles across all existing parking permit charge bands
  • A £50 surcharge on second and subsequent permits per household
  • Introduce a 25% diesel surcharge to our existing on-street pay to park areas and off-street car parks tariffs
  • Proposed changes to Visitor Permit arrangements
  • Free Residential Permit for Disabled Blue Badge Holders
  • Administration Fee for parking permit refunds
• Why is Haringey Council proposing these changes now?
• Are hourly visitor permits still available to purchase?
• Is there a cap on the number of hourly and daily visitor permits that can be purchased at any one time?
• How many hourly visitor permits can be used in one day?
• How many daily visitor permits need to be displayed if I have a visitor for five days at my property?
  • Can you explain what a virtual permit is and when the council will be introducing them?
  • Why doesn’t the council already offer virtual permits like some neighbouring councils?
• Will the concessionary discounts still apply to visitor permits?
• What incentive is the council offering to residents who own or want to switch to using an electric vehicle?
• How will an £80 increase cause everyone to scrap their diesel vehicle?
• Will a £50 surcharge for a second vehicle discourage multiple vehicle ownership?
• How will a 25% pay-to-park surcharge on a diesel vehicles discourage short trips in the borough?
• Why is the council introducing a blanket diesel surcharge, to include Euro 6 vehicles?
• I don’t drive, or own a car, can I still respond to the consultation?

Can you explain the proposals in more detail? 

A proposed standard £10 increase across all existing parking permit charge bands 

This increase across all charge bands ensures the funding to support the significant costs of running, maintaining, and enforcing our parking infrastructure. Our charges, in particular those applying to the most fuel-efficient vehicles still remain competitive when compared to boroughs. 
Any surplus income that is generated is ring-fenced and invested back into road maintenance and highway improvements, concessionary fares, and to administer the Disabled Blue Badge parking scheme. 

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An £80 surcharge on diesel fuelled vehicles across all existing parking permit charge bands

The council linked parking permit charges to CO2 emissions in 2008. By raising awareness of the environmental impact of CO2 emissions, people were encouraged to use lower, more sustainable forms of transport to help reduce the associated greenhouse effect. Diesel was initially considered more environmentally friendly than petrol, as diesel fuelled vehicles are more efficient and as such produce less CO2 per mile. 

Whilst car engines have become cleaner in recent years; it was subsequently found that diesel vehicles produce high emissions of Nitrous Oxides (NOx) and harmful Particulate Matter (PM) and impact negatively on overall health and life expectancy of residents.

Many London boroughs have already successfully introduced parking levies on diesel fuelled vehicles. This is a logical step to take considering that the council already links parking charges to higher polluting vehicles. 
The proposed annual surcharge, if adopted, is set at a level that will raise awareness of the impact of diesel emissions on local air quality and will influence choices when car owners are changing their vehicles.

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A £50 surcharge on second and subsequent permits per household

At present, the council allows households within CPZs to purchase as many parking permits as they require. It is the council’s objective to reduce car ownership, promote active travel and encourage residents to use more sustainable modes of travel. 

Residents have also feedback to us, via parking consultations, households with multiple vehicles reduce the availability of on street parking. 
This proposal aims to influence residents’ choices around their levels of car ownership. We will continue to allow residents and households to purchase as many permits as required, but they will pay a higher charge for subsequent applications. 

We are proposing that a £50 surcharge is applied to each additional permit application made by a household. For example;

• 1st permit = annual charge for permit
• 2nd permit = annual charge for permit + £50 surcharge
• 3rd permit = annual charge for permit + £50 surcharge

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Introduce a 25% diesel surcharge to our existing on-street pay to park areas and off-street car parks tariffs

In addition to parking permit holders, there is a significant number of diesel vehicles using the short stay parking arrangements provided on-street and in car parks across the borough. 

A high proportion of those vehicles are diesel fuelled and also contribute to poor air quality. The proposed diesel surcharge will raise awareness of the impacts of diesel vehicles, which will influence decisions when changing vehicles. 

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Proposed changes to Visitor Permit arrangements 

The council has noted that daily visitor permit purchase has increased, especially in the event day areas, creating additional parking pressure. There have also been reports of misuse - including permit reselling, which has increased visitor parking congestion. 

We are therefore proposing changes to the use of daily visitor permits. 

The proposals do not impact on hourly visitors permits or the overall number of permits that can be purchased. 

We are however proposing the following changes to the use of daily visitor permits:

• Limit account holders to use no more than two daily visitor permits at any one time. If more than two residents’ visitor permits are in use at any one time then vehicles utilising the third and subsequent permits may be issued with Penalty Charge Notices (parking tickets). This is to reduce the opportunity for those permits to be resold. 
• The council is also proposing to increase the cost of daily visitor permits to £4 across all CPZ areas, bringing those charges more in line with charges within other boroughs. 

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Free Residential Permit for Disabled Blue Badge Holders

The council is proposing to provide a free virtual residential permit for Disabled Blue Badge Holders to park within their local CPZ for a vehicle registered to them. This will replace the companion badge scheme. 
This will continue to help the badge holder protect themselves against theft.

As the permit is virtual, there would be no need to display anything in the vehicle. The Disabled Blue Badge must be used when parking on yellow lines, or in pay by phone bays, and disabled bays.

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Administration Fee for parking permit refunds

The council is proposing to introduce a £20 administration fee on processing parking permit refunds. This is intended to cover the cost of administering refunds. 
While the council will move to virtual visitor permits later this year, it is also proposed that paper (scratch cards) shall become non-refundable. This means that any unused visitor permits will become non-refundable.

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Why is Haringey Council proposing these changes now?

Air quality has serious impacts on residents and is associated with several adverse health conditions. Additionally, air pollution affects the most vulnerable in society: children and older people, and those with heart and lung conditions.

Haringey is committed to improving air quality and we are acting decisively, in line with central government guidance and local policies, to influence transport choices and encourage more sustainable transport choices, such as walking and cycling.

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Are hourly visitor permits still available to purchase?

Yes, they are still available, and we are not proposing any changes to the price of the hourly permits.

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Is there a cap on the number of hourly and daily visitor permits that can be purchased at any one time?

There is no cap on the number of visitor parking permits that can be purchased for both hourly and daily. 

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How many hourly visitor permits can be used in one day?

There is no cap on how many hourly visitors permits can be used in one day, or at any one time. 

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How many daily visitor permits need to be displayed if I have a visitor for five days at my property? 

At present, your visitor is required to display one daily visitor permit for every day of their stay, during the controlled parking times within your zone.

Please note, we will be replacing all existing paper permits with virtual permits later this year, at which time you will no longer be required to display a paper visitor permit.

The only restriction under the new proposals is that only two daily visitor permits can be used by an account holder at any one time.

If more than two residents’ visitor permits are in use at any one time, then vehicles utilising the third and subsequent permits may be issued with Penalty Charge Notices (parking tickets). This is to reduce the opportunity for those permits to be resold.

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Can you explain what a virtual permit is and when the council will be introducing them?

This is a permit that we will create in our system which will not need to be printed and displayed in the vehicle. Our Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) will know that a virtual permit is in place when they type the registration number of the vehicle into their handheld computer. Virtual permits will be available across all permit types, including hourly and daily visitor permits.

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Why doesn’t the council already offer virtual permits like some neighbouring councils?

The council will be introducing virtual permits later this year as part of a wider transformation of the parking service.

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Will the concessionary discounts still apply to visitor permits?

Yes, we are still offering the concessionary rate discount of 50% to all visitor permits for those aged 65 or over, or if registered disabled.

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What incentive is the council offering to residents who own or want to switch to using an electric vehicle?

The council, through its Air Quality Action Plan and Carbon Reduction plans, agreed a series of actions and commitments to reduce harmful emissions from road transport, including using parking charges as a means of discouraging private car use where possible, and incentivising the use of low and zero emission vehicles. 

Under new proposals the cost of an electric vehicle permit is £31 per year which is considerably lower compared to vehicles with higher emissions. 

Electric vehicles (excluding hybrids and plug-in hybrids) can park free of charge in dedicated pay by phone bays in the borough, but the maximum stay and no return periods will remain applicable. 

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How will an £80 increase cause everyone to scrap their diesel vehicle?

Many London boroughs have already successfully introduced parking levies on diesel fuelled vehicles. This is a logical step for Haringey to take considering that the council already links parking charges to higher polluting vehicles. It is understood that any surcharge applied is unlikely to result in an immediate move to lower or zero emission vehicles. 

However, the proposed annual surcharge of £80, if adopted, is set at a level that will raise awareness of the impact of diesel emissions on local air quality and will influence choices when private car owners and businesses are changing their vehicles.

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Will a £50 surcharge for a second vehicle discourage multiple vehicle ownership?

At present, the council allows individuals and households within CPZs to purchase as many parking permits as they require. However, it is important that the council discourages multiple car ownership by encouraging the uptake of sustainable modes of travel, which ensures a less congested road network and kerb space. Rather than impose a limit, we have proposed that a surcharge of £50 is applied to second and subsequent permits purchased per household. 

This will continue to give residents and households the opportunity to purchase as many permits as required, but they will pay a higher charge for subsequent permits. Parking charges are a useful tool in managing parking demand and trends. This is intended to raise awareness of the impact of multiple car ownership and while it will encourage some people to reconsider their modes of transports, we appreciate that others will chose to pay the higher charge. 

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How will a 25% pay-to-park surcharge on a diesel vehicles discourage short trips in the borough?

This is being considered in conjunction with the diesel surcharge on residential parking permits. Approximately 44% of vehicles using our on-street and car park facilities are diesel fuelled cars and these vehicles. They also contribute to poor air quality. If implemented, it will again raise awareness of the impact of diesel emissions on local air quality.

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Why is the council introducing a blanket diesel surcharge, to include Euro 6 vehicles?

Consideration was given to exempting Euro 6 diesel compliant vehicles from the proposed diesel surcharge, and in doing so align the surcharge with the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) criteria. However, several cities are taking steps to ban all diesel fuelled vehicles from city centres, and our policies support the view that the use of all diesel fuelled vehicles should be discouraged. 

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I don’t drive, or own a car, can I still respond to the consultation?

Yes, we are interested to hear the views of all residents and businesses. 

The council has consulted statutory bodies such as the Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade, Bus Operators, Road Haulage Association and Freight Transport Association. Other stakeholders, such as cycling, environmental and disability groups have also been contacted in regard to the proposed changes.

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Have Your Say

To comment on any of our parking consultations please complete our online feedback form:

Parking feedback form

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