Islington council says the move is aimed at simplifying parking rules, but critics claim it is intended to generate revenue. Motoring groups say the council is just one of many across the country using resident parking zones to raise money since the ban on CCTV cars earlier this year, which is expected to result in a reduction in parking fines being handed out.
Parking permits can cost more than £100 and are typically issued to residents on an annual basis, allowing them to park outside their home without fear of penalty if it is within a controlled parking zone (CPZ). Residents must usually buy parking vouchers to give to visiting family or friends who wish to park on their road.
In the past, CPZs have operated only at specific hours of the day — between 9am and 6pm, for example — to ensure that streets are not clogged up by non-residents. In many cases the hours of operation are even shorter, sometimes just two hours, outside of which anyone may park within the CPZ. Extending the zones’ hours of operation means wardens will be able to patrol for transgressors at any time of the day or night.
The rollout of 24-hour CPZs, which will initially apply only to certain areas of Islington, has sparked anger among residents, who have launched a “Stop the Parking Madness” campaign.
Many of the local shopkeepers claim businesses will suffer, since passing trade will now always have to pay to park and visit their shops. “It’s a revenue thing,” says Chris Godfrey, owner of Godfreys butcher’s, which has stood in the Highbury Barn area of Islington for more than 100 years. “People understand where they can park and that means the council is giving out fewer tickets. If they change the rules, people will get confused and [the council will] be able to issue more tickets.”
Islington’s most recent accounts show it raised £1m less in parking fines in the 2012-2013 financial year compared with the previous 12 months, while increased costs meant the profit it made from parking and traffic fines reduced from £9.2m to £6.7m.
Godfrey and other traders in the Highbury Barn area have organised a petition to oppose the proposal to extend residents’ parking hours; it has gathered more than 700 signatures so far.
“The plans make no sense,” says Hak Huseyin, chairman of Islington chamber of commerce. “It might increase revenue for the council but it could close down the shops, cafes and restaurants [that] rely on customers driving to them in the evenings and weekends.”
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