Council ready to go ahead with £40 diesel parking surcharge

diesel exhaust

Lambeth council has finalised plans to charge owners of certain diesel vehicles an extra £40 a year for a resident’s parking permit.

Vehicles that do not meet the Euro 6 emission standard will be subject to the surcharge.

All cars first registered after September 2015 are required to meet this standard.

The council, which required objections in writing during an official consultation period from 25 August to 11 September this year, said it had received only one letter of opposition.

A council report says that parking permits in the borough are already designed to penalise the most polluting cars, with discounts offered to those with lower carbon emissions.

But a loophole would allow many diesel vehicles with low CO2 emissions a discounted rate, even though they emit high levels of dangerous nitrogen oxides.

The council estimates that about 4,500 vehicles will be subject to the surcharge, generating an income of about £100,000 in a full year. This will be used to cover administration costs and to fund the council’s air quality action plan.

Other London boroughs already have surcharges. Islington’s is £96 and Hackney’s £50.