Londoners charged £1,000 to park outside their home forced to ‘give up’ their cars

Londoners are paying more than £1,000 per year to park outside of their home with some forced to give up their vehicles.

Islington has the most expensive residents parking permit in the whole UK, with some paying up to £1,073 for an older diesel car.

This is around ten times more expensive than the rest of the UK, with the average being £128 for a permit, according to Churchill Motor Insurance.

Taxi driver Sandy Conway said she bought a car for personal use which is the most eco compliant in 2017.

She said she paid £29 for the first year of parking, but claims this has now risen to £421 – an increase of around 960%.

Sandy told Metro: ‘I deliberately bought this Band A car, but now I have to take it all the way out of the borough to my sister’s drive in Loughton.

‘I can’t afford to park both my taxi or car in the same borough – it feels like theft.’

Petrol vehicles can also cost up to £800 to park annually, and households must pay an extra £108.55 for a second permit.

Cerys Thomas-Ford told Metro: ‘My parking permit was £700. They charged me an extra £100 because it was the second car in the household.

‘This really sucks given that a large percentage of people, me included, are flat sharing so we have separate cars for our entirely separate lives. Farcical.’

Resident Yan Yan said he was paying £420 for an entire year’s permit which he described as ‘an absolute joke’.

Andreas Georgious even revealed he gave up his car as he could not keep up with the ‘extortionate’ council fees.

Some residents had also upgraded their work vehicles to ensure it was Ulez compliant and save on emission fees, but are still being charged high prices.

Caroline Gallagher told Metro: ‘I upgraded my van to meet regulations, but I’m still being charged extra due to it being diesel. Why did I bother to upgrade then?’

The next highest place in the UK is the City of Edinburgh which charges a maximum of £777.90.

Parking permits are ‘wildly different’ across the UK with charges varying by borough.

Most London councils also base their charges on emissions rather than size.

Camden is the next highest London borough and third highest in the UK, charging residents £741.40 for a permit.

Tower Hamlets is next at £497, with Brent charging £429 and Enfield at £395.

Nicholas Mantel, Head of Churchill Motor Insurance, commented: ‘Residents parking schemes are now widespread in towns and cities across the UK.

‘However, every council has taken a different approach, meaning that what might be considered a high emissions car by one council, isn’t in the next.

‘Overall, residents with older and more polluting cars are typically paying far more than those with more modern cars and EVs, regardless of how much room the cars take up when parked.’

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport said: ‘We want a greener, healthier Islington and are strongly committed to tackling the climate emergency.

‘We have worked hard to show leadership in our ambitious transport policies that aim to reduce vehicle use and promote active travel.

‘Our emission-based parking charges are designed to encourage residents to choose cleaner, more sustainable transport options.

‘The vast majority of permit holders in Islington – more than 80% – now own lower-emission vehicles with permit costs of £265 or less for petrol or hybrid engines, and £143 or less for fully-electric vehicles.’

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