Huge increase coming for Greenwich parking fees including car clubs and doctors

A document uploaded on the quiet to Greenwich council’s website reveals some hefty increases incoming for parking fees including for tradesmen, doctors and car club users.

It reveals that Greenwich will introduce increases for this 2025/26 financial year in late July across the board but some will see increase vastly outstrip inflation.

The council intend to increase a doctor’s permit from £263.00 to £330.00.

A tradesperson’s weekly permit will increase from £18.50 to £30.

Car clubs are rising sharply too despite long given as a greener alternative to individual car ownership which also frees up limited road space.

Somehow, “The adjustment to fees and charges is driven by the need to ensure outgoing costs are accounted for and to encourage behaviour from vehicle owners to assist the boroughs efforts to address climate change through moderated vehicle usage”.

The excuse given is “Where necessary, fees and charges have been introduced by more than inflation to bring Greenwich in line with other London boroughs”.

Ok, but the quality of public space and many streets across the borough is often far below many London boroughs.

Greenwich are regularly loath to implement measures to encourage people not to drive such as installing new pedestrian crossings and would regularly gaslight residents whenever they asked for it at council meetings by placing all focus on TfL alone. Buck passing was mastered.

All other permits will increase with a two year jump upon planned timelines meaning discounts for low emission vehicles will reduce while increased costs will rise for those that pollute more.

Where’s the money going?

It must be asked exactly where all the money is going from increased permit costs, CCTV use for moving traffic enforcement and LTN revenue.

Greenwich’s parking enforcement remains dismal in many areas as does the design of many streets and public spaces which could be improved via revenue ringfenced for transport.

Greenwich are extremely coy about revenue and spend. It used to be reported on occasion but little seen in council meetings for a long time.

Many of the borough’s public spaces and streets remain utterly awful on foot including those in areas of large-scale development such as east Greenwich and Greenwich peninsula.

Greatly increasing car club fees and failing to invest revenue from transport into, say, street improvements to assist those hoping to reduce car use hardly encourages a green future – despite the council’s endless PR and numerous expensively drawn up reports on carbon reduction, healthy living and much else.

Putting people off using car clubs and encouraging them to buy their own car somehow aligns with a goal listed in the very same report that states “Greenwich plays an active role in tackling the climate crisis and improving environmental sustainability, in line with our commitment of being carbon neutral by 2030”.

If Greenwich actually care about enticing people to ditch the car and walk or use public transport they’d, I dunno, invest numerous revenue streams into making walking far more attractive. I mean, when Bexley borough are planning to install far more pedestrian crossings than Greenwich it highlights how bad they are.

Despite increased revenue there’s scant evidence of investment. Unless endless street clutter is what they think counts. Whoever makes those wooden bollards continues to rake it in.

Pretty much everything funded of note of any substance that does happen is via scant TfL funds often via the Local Implementation Plan fund and if they won’t cough up, Greenwich do little.

This goes back many years. Most London boroughs would top up TfL’s annual funding allocation substantially. Greenwich wouldn’t year in, year out.

Actually there is one thing that’s quite likely to happen: we’ll see consultants draw up yet more green reports just to be ignored once again when it comes to putting the targets into practice. It’s been at least a year since the last.

Expect a consultation or council press release soon airbrushing the worst of it and making everything appear rosy in the near future, with the report stating changes will be “clearly communicated to the public to minimise backlash resulting from increased costs.”