Streetlife

No it's not fair at all plus if your going to change your minds for three streets it should be done across the board. I will vote in your poll when at my pc next

Michael.

Thanks for giving this issue a wider platform. Lets hope it provokes a response from LBBD.

this has been an issue that needed more response, ever  since the council run this new upgrade idea for CPZ through there panel of advisers/councilors and was passed by them with out really talking to residents who already have the CPZ in place paying what it was for ...... to stop people from parking near train stations and parking in such a way it could be dangerous , which as far as iam concerned is what it should be for and to pay for a parking bay as per household near train stations  ...... but now with this huge increase in price and what on earth has the engine size /emissons got to do with the parking space when u see all types of car ,truck,4x4, bus, anything that creates emissons passing by , or stuck in traffic pumping out black smoke is beyond me, i dont mind a slight increase , but not in the way this has done . i own a car and a van which are both going to be increased .................... not happy ................. some thing better needs to be thought of and all residents need to get behind this new poll .

The 'footprint' of the vehicle (amount of road space it takes up) is relevant to the cost of the parking permit
The parking location (eg near a station, or other sought after location) is also relevant.

As to emissions, I see no argument against favouring vehicles with lower CO2 emissions than others, especially if everything else is equal.

The £ charged in total for parking permits should be equal to the cost of running the scheme.

I don't really see the relevance of where the registered keeper lives to the cost of the permit. If s/he wants to park his/her car in a high demand area, then s/he'll have to pay.

The footprint of the vehicle has nothing to do with the amount of space taken up.The new rules refer to Carbon Footprint. Read LBBD site for the original reasons for bringing in permits.

The parking location is not relevant unless you are a commuter. Again read LBBD site for original reasons for bringing in permits. Most people in the borough had no say in the proximity of their houses to stations etc.

Their is no argument, as fas as I am concerned or aware, against emission based charges. But why has it taken LBBD so long to adopt this policy and why the sudden hike in prices. What else is equal?

What is the cost of running the scheme, any idea ? and what is the revenue from permits ? Apparently the extra revenue is going to pay towards the upkeep of roads. So does that mean unless you have paid for a permit you can't drive on public roads in the borough.......... I don't think so !

The relevance to the address of the registered keeper is as to whether they live in a CPZ or not. See the LBBD site. It  is not the resident who creates the high demand but commuters.

By having a parking permit you do not pay for the exclusive use of the pavement outside of your property. The permit enters you into a lottery for spaces.

We changed cars recently movng to a slightly larger engine so were expecting to pay more for our new permit (£10 extra)
We were plesently surprised when it stayed the same because of the carbon footprint being better on a newer car

Neil Sec

Glad to hear a success story in relation to this issue. I would not have objected so strongly if my Permit had only increased by £10 but it went from £22.50 to £70 in one hit as have a lot of others. 

I know some will say that my objections are selfish, they are not. I think that there is also a wider issue here.The whole process has been unjust, disproportionate and I feel is a discriminatory council tax supplement. How will we, as Resident Permit holders, actually benefit from the new charges.

Ken

I completely agree with you, as I have said before issues relating to CPZ should be discussed with the people it is going to affect.
Prices of resident’s permits, prices of visitor’s permits and the working times of the CPZ all affect us.
I have neighbours whose family do not visit them a lot because of the cost of permits, this is a crazy situation.

Neil Sec

See the letters page of Dag.Post efforts are being made to start an action group in relation to this issue. (Maybe I shouldn't have said that as it may alert the councillors as to our future action, but on the other hand not one of them have responded on this site so far, so should be OK.)
 
See also the poll in the Post.

Neil, sorry just realised that you were aware of the Poll.

Do you really think our councillors are interested enough to read this site or even react to it.  They all have their orders from within the council and don't need to think for themselves.  Labour council with all Labour councillors and so long as they attend the required number of meetings and nod appropriately they can get their unearned paycheck.

How many residents actually get good value from their councillors?  We used to have just ONE who helped us but even that's stopped now.  They certainly don't listen to us.

The council's grand plan is to make all roads CPZ areas whether it's needed or not and we all need to fight this; it's barmy.  Surely the council have a duty to issue you with a parking permit if you are near a station or shops at a minimal amount as a lot of us actually do pay our countil tax, which should cover this.

Pam D

I don't know if the councillors read Streetlife. But what we can say is they don't respond to issues posted on this site. At present maybe they are on their summer recess ?
Maybe as you suggest they are towing the party line and are not responding as a result of party orders. Either way its not acceptable. Things will all change in about 12 months as we approach the May 2014 election when they will be chasing your vote !

I hope that their will be a change both to the system and to those elected at that time, but that's another issue.

In relation to  CPZ's etc. There WILL BE an action group formed to challenge the LBBD.

Well if the next election is anything like the last one we will have the same motley crew in.  Over here we had mini buses full of Africans being ferried in to vote and then rushed away again all through the day.  People living in one bedroom flats found out that maybe 7 people had voted from that address.  Some residents turned up to vote to be told they already had and on and on and on.

Channel 4 were investigating LBBD; not sure if they still ar but something really dodgy went on.  Why otherwise did we lose all 12 BNP councillors and a Conservative one just to be left with all Labour?

Pam D

Perhaps now is the time to start thinking about a change. I hear what you say about the recent elections.( was unaware of Channel 4 interest so I will follow up on that).

We were probably lucky enough to lose ALL BNP councillors due to their policies reflecting their odious beliefs and their failure to do the job properly when elected.

There is just over 20 months to the next election so WE CAN make a difference if we can get rid of voter apathy and promote what WE want through sites such as Streetlife. We need more independents to represent the people and not tow the party line.

The only frightening thought is that I may well come out of my current retirement to fight. (lol)

Well just make sure you advertise it well if you do Ken so we can all vote for you if we're in your ward.  At least you have a good command of the English language, unlike quite a lot we have in now.

Now that would be a good story - our first streetlife councillor

Just be careful what you wish for..............

I completely disagree with the charges.

I believe our annual charge will increase to £170 - to park outside our own house (when we can, with the majority of our neighbours having 2 or in some cases 3 cars).

As far as I am concerned - the parking permits exist to prevent commuters from outside of London parking in the streets around Barking and getting the tube (particulalrly around our area).  Charges should reflect the admin involved in this, and that alone.

Our car takes up one car space - that is all.  CO2 emissions have no effect on this.  Road tax takes this into account - which I agree is fair and the council should not be able to decide they can effectively double charge.

The council are just pretending to jump on the green bandwagon - assuming they can sneak their money making charges under the premise of 'it is good for the environment' in to cover their budget shortfalls in other areas.

However, unlike some comments above I do not think you should pay more for parking outside your house if your house happens to be closer to the station.

And finally - the time involved to get the new temporary scratch card permits has become a joke.  My wfe went to Barking Library last week - with only a few people in front of her, there was still over an hour wait as it takes over 20 mins to issue these new scratchcards!  Complete waste of time!

Mark

The system in place in some boroughs works on the principle that you outline i.e. cover the cost of admin. The whole ethos has change to become a money making exercise.

I have the misfortune of living close to a tube station, on a bus route and on a road that is used for a rat run when the new A13 is backlogged. Often vehicles are in traffic queues along the majority of the road but do I get a reduction in my council tax for the discomforting effect of this, Not B***dy Likely.

Mark if that is you holding the bike in the picture attached to your posting then I would change the picture before the council decide that as you have a bike you don't need a car and therefore can't have a permit (lol)

"I do not think you should pay more for parking outside your house if your house happens to be closer to the station."

You are not paying to park outside your house,  you are paying to stop other people from parking outside your house. "Other people" basically means commuters and they are obviously going to try to park near a station. As to the "misfortune" of living near a station, I'm sure it has some disadvantages, but it has advantages too. Why can't I get a discount in my Council Tax for NOT living near a station?

I s the 20 minutes to get scratch cards just the first time you get them, do you think? Will it be quicker when renewing? Thanks for the tip though - I'll take something to read when I have to go, though the CPZ in my road has been deferred pending more consultation.

Colin N

You should learn two things.

1. Don't contradict your own postings!

2. Read others posting's properly !

Both should be done before committing yourself to inaccurate comments.

If you are going to correct me in an open forum, please do me the honour of not making generalised comments.

Which of my own posts have I contradicted, and in which post(s)? Or, please repeat my alleged self-contradiction.
Which / whose post(s) do you say I have not read properly and what makes you say that?
Which of my comments is/are inaccurate?

Just look back to August 02 0145 and compare

By implication you in your last posting seemed to suggest that I was looking for a discount to my poll,oops sorry, council tax. My comment about "living near the tube"  a component part of an argument in relation to the parking tax as a whole and an example of issues which are not/ have not been taken into account when producing this revenue making policy.

I will apologise in advance if you do not get the points I have made, but not for the making of them. The idea here, on this site, as I see it, is to provoke reasoned argument in an open forum by expressing honest opinions supported by, where they are available, facts.

By the way VED no longer exists ?

I have looked back at the post you refer to and can't see any contradiction by me in what I meant. If it is unclear or ambiguous I can only apologise and offer to clarify any point that needs it.

That said, perhaps you mean my comment that "I don't really see the relevance of where the registered keeper lives to the cost of the permit." What I was trying to say is that I don't see why there's a difference (in one CPZ) between permits for (eg) two cars in one household and two cars in two households. It's still two cars taking up two spaces. I admit I didn't make that point well.

You wrote: "I have the misfortune of living close to a tube station, on a bus route and on a road that is used for a rat run when the new A13 is backlogged. Often vehicles are in traffic queues along the majority of the road but do I get a reduction in my council tax for the discomforting effect of this, Not B***dy Likely."

I'm not clear in what way I've misunderstood this. There are pros and cons of living near a station is my main point.

Not sure what your last point is. AFAIK Vehicle Excise Duty still exists. I haven't said doesn't. Road Tax no longer exists. W Churchill abolished it in the 20s (or 30s).

Re VED I believed that in a previous conversation you used that phrase. If it was not you I apologise. But FYI Road Tax is now the title for what was formerly known as VED.

In relation to my other comments, if you took offence I apologise in this public forum. It is the least that I can do as I made the criticism public.

Whilst there may well advantages and disadvantages to living close to a station there are also pro'sand con's to living in Mayfair or Knightsbridge, but that is not the issue. THIS  thread and at least one other relate to the Discriminatory Council Tax Supplement otherwise know as Resident Parking Permit fees.

Also your understanding of "the footprint of the vehicle" was incorrect.

Look at LBBD website on the issue and you will see how they have moved the goal Posts and proceeded down this revenue gathering exercise.