Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Council tackles 'Climate Change' with massive increase in parking charges!
Most people will know by now that Resident's Parking Permits have gone up. Based on your vehicle emissions most of us increase from £25 to £60.
********** Essential Services Permits **********
If you drive to work within Haringey and park within a CPZ or come from outside the borough you maybe relying on an Essential Services Permit. Teachers and nurses are a good example. For reasons of safety and because you probably have several bags of books to mark and a laptop (if you're a teacher) you take your car.
Till now you have paid £25 pa for the privilege. Not any more.
From April 1st your Essential Services Permit will cost you £300 - £600pa.
This will be based on your emissions. A 1300cc car will cost the owner £300 for a permit. Some vehicles will be charged £150pa but that probably only covers a Toyota Prius or a well behaved donkey.
Instead of weaning people onto higher charges by using a gradual increase the council have gone for the blunt instrument.
Why? Because there is a serious shortfall in central government funding to the council, oh and the borough wants to be the greenest borough in London.
Fine, but we do want our schools & hospitals to run properly. Taxing their staff out of the borough isn't a good idea.
When these rumours of higher parking charges started to circulate I contacted Gina, one of our local councillors. Here is a reply from the Head of Parking;
Dear Cllr Adamou
Thank you for your email raising concerns regarding the Essential Service Permit Scheme.
A new staff travel plan is being introduced across the council as part of our commitment to tackling climate change at a local level. The review of the Essential Service permit scheme [ESP] is an essential element of this and the revised scheme will be implemented alongside a number of other measures on 1 April 2008.
The scheme as it stands is not sustainable. Demand has grown in recent years, with additional services / organisations being issued with permits. This has resulted in the scheme expanding without appropriate consideration given to its impact on available parking spaces. As such we have undertaken a fundamental review of the scheme, which looked at the qualifying criteria, conditions of use and charges.
Schools will be considered on an individual business case basis. The factors that will be considered are operational needs, availability of car park space at the school or in the immediate area, and proximity to public transport facilities.
Details of the Staff Travel Plan are being communicated at present to all staff and I will be writing to all existing ESP holders very soon to notify them of changes to the scheme and invite them to reapply if they feel that they meet the new criteria. We are also arranging drop in sessions for staff and I hope to have the opportunity to speak directly with teachers about the changes.
The ESP charges have not been reviewed for several years and need to be brought in line with other permit charges. The new charges are higher and represent the value of the permit. The charges will also be based on CO2 emission bandings, and will range from £150 to £600 [charges for building maintenance differs slightly] depending on the banding.
I hope that this helpful and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.
regards
Ann Cunningham
Head of Parking Services
********** Essential Services Permits **********
If you drive to work within Haringey and park within a CPZ or come from outside the borough you maybe relying on an Essential Services Permit. Teachers and nurses are a good example. For reasons of safety and because you probably have several bags of books to mark and a laptop (if you're a teacher) you take your car.
Till now you have paid £25 pa for the privilege. Not any more.
From April 1st your Essential Services Permit will cost you £300 - £600pa.
This will be based on your emissions. A 1300cc car will cost the owner £300 for a permit. Some vehicles will be charged £150pa but that probably only covers a Toyota Prius or a well behaved donkey.
Instead of weaning people onto higher charges by using a gradual increase the council have gone for the blunt instrument.
Why? Because there is a serious shortfall in central government funding to the council, oh and the borough wants to be the greenest borough in London.
Fine, but we do want our schools & hospitals to run properly. Taxing their staff out of the borough isn't a good idea.
When these rumours of higher parking charges started to circulate I contacted Gina, one of our local councillors. Here is a reply from the Head of Parking;
Dear Cllr Adamou
Thank you for your email raising concerns regarding the Essential Service Permit Scheme.
A new staff travel plan is being introduced across the council as part of our commitment to tackling climate change at a local level. The review of the Essential Service permit scheme [ESP] is an essential element of this and the revised scheme will be implemented alongside a number of other measures on 1 April 2008.
The scheme as it stands is not sustainable. Demand has grown in recent years, with additional services / organisations being issued with permits. This has resulted in the scheme expanding without appropriate consideration given to its impact on available parking spaces. As such we have undertaken a fundamental review of the scheme, which looked at the qualifying criteria, conditions of use and charges.
Schools will be considered on an individual business case basis. The factors that will be considered are operational needs, availability of car park space at the school or in the immediate area, and proximity to public transport facilities.
Details of the Staff Travel Plan are being communicated at present to all staff and I will be writing to all existing ESP holders very soon to notify them of changes to the scheme and invite them to reapply if they feel that they meet the new criteria. We are also arranging drop in sessions for staff and I hope to have the opportunity to speak directly with teachers about the changes.
The ESP charges have not been reviewed for several years and need to be brought in line with other permit charges. The new charges are higher and represent the value of the permit. The charges will also be based on CO2 emission bandings, and will range from £150 to £600 [charges for building maintenance differs slightly] depending on the banding.
I hope that this helpful and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.
regards
Ann Cunningham
Head of Parking Services
Tags for Forum Posts: parking charges, penalty charge notices
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh on
-
Thanks for this Matt. Do you know if there's a simple chart setting out the new parking permit charges for residents?
-
Permalink Reply by matt on
-
Hi Hugh
Just a click today ... and watch your pay drain away;
http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/environment_and_transport/parking/...
-
Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
-
I take a laptop and often books to work (especially if I use the tube or train) and it is not a problem. Even if I cycle it's not a problem.
Driving into our borough is a privelidge. The number of times I come out my front door in the morning to a traffic jam really makes me mad. Bring back the toll at Turnpike Lane I say.
And I don't care if they're nurses or teachers and I don't want them to have an exemption because that makes their choice of transport rather narrow. Give them the cash to pay it and see what they do.
-
-
I wonder if there are any teachers or nurses that would like to add their thoughts.
It will be interesting to see how different individuals react to a 1200 - 2400% rise in the parking fee. I wonder what the not-so-mighty unions will make of it too.
Most of the traffic going pass our doors in the rush hours John is going through Haringey into the centre of London or out again at the end of the day. So the ESP charge probably won't change that much.
However if it does start to lessen traffic flows why not pedestrianize the Grand Parade. A beer outside the Salisbury on a pleasant summer's evening, no traffic, just the rubbish fluttering in the breeze. Lovely. :)
-
Permalink Reply by Liz on
-
I am a teacher and I have never owned a car or needed to. Most teachers I know do not go home laden with books etc, they just work at the office the same as everyone else. We don't work anti-social hours so we can safely use public transport. Where I used to work, teachers effectively had free parking in a v expensive borough while those of us who used public transport paid full fare.
Nurses on the other hand do work anti-social hours and should be made a special case.
I'm thinking a line of beautiful plane trees down the centre of the road and little kiosks selling ice cream and coffee.
-
-
Indulge me...a day when Green Lanes is actually green. We take back the road from the bridge to Duckett's and 'green it' with a damn great party on Duckett's.A grand parade on Grand Parade... Now hang on, wasn't there a group that used to do that...maybe they still do...anyone have their number?
You may now return to the real world...no harm in dreaming
-
-
Yes I'd close it from the bridge (allowing traffic into Sainsbury's from the south) but pedestrianize only up to St Anns Rd so traffic could flow down that way. The Garden lot can enter from St Anns rd and the Ladder lot from Wightman. Through traffic going Enfield to London can go through some other part of London!
Bring on the trees, roll out the grass ... it's time for a picnic!
-
-
It would be like Las Ramblas in Barcelona (including the crime probably) Imagine an evening stroll between the hostelries, kids in their finery posing, residents not talking online but in the streets...
-
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
