Higher car parking fees could be ‘one approach’ councils take to ‘tackle issue’
Extra car parking charges for certain drivers could be "one approach" local authorities take to cut back on the rise in heavy vehicles.
SUV owners may be slapped with higher parking charges across the UK under new plans outlined by motoring campaigners.
Transport&Environment (T&E) has stressed that “increased parking charges” could be “one approach” that councils could take to combat SUVs in major cities.
It comes months after Paris introduced hefty SUV parking fees to tackle the number of heavy machines parking in the French capital.
T&E previously stressed there was a ”worrying trend” of vehicle sizes rising with extra fees now outlined as a way to “tackle the issue”.
It could be a blow to tourists still tackling the cost of living crisis with heavier vehicles likely to pay considerably more than other road users.
Ralph Palmer, Electric Vehicle and Fleets Officer at T&E stressed some of London’s boroughs had now adopted similar measures to curb heavy vehicles on their streets.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Ralph said: “Increased parking charges is one approach that towns and cities could take to tackle this issue, similar to what we've seen in Paris and some London boroughs where parking charges are based on CO2 emissions of the car.
Last week, T&E issued a manifesto briefing into potential issues for the winner of the next General Election in July.
The group stated that there was a “worrying trend of cars growing wider across Europe”.
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They revealed that the “UK is no exception” to the policy which may have to be addressed by incoming lawmakers.
Paris recently opted to increase parking fees for large SUVs after a referendum gave the green light to the plan.
It means motorists will now pay €18 (£15) to leave their heavy vehicles in the capital’s parking bays.
Meanwhile, Islington borough are charged higher rates spending on their battery sizes with motorists with a 90kWh battery charged £230.
Lambeth Council is also understood to be thinking about the introduction of higher fees as cars continue to get bigger.
Peter O’Driscoll, Managing Director at RingGo has previously warned the introduction of higher fees may not be too far off.
Peter explained: “Although there are existing emissions-based parking and road rules in the UK, we have been seeing the introduction of higher parking resident permit costs for heavier EVs in Islington, and the weight of vehicles could form a much wider part of the price we pay to park a car in our cities in the future.”
