Parking hike for gas guzzlers

council in London wants to charge owners of cars with high emissions more for parking permits.

The Liberal Democrat-run Richmond Council wants residents with the most polluting cars to pay up to £750 a year for parking, while owners of the greenest cars would be exempt from charges under the proposals. Richmond residents currently pay £200 for parking permits.

If the plans are approved, residents with so-called gas-guzzling cars would pay £300 for the first parking permit and a further £450 for the second vehicle. If implemented, it would be the first scheme of its type in the UK.

Leader of Richmond Council Serge Lourie said: 'Richmond upon Thames is one of the highest CO2-emitting boroughs in London.

'For too long climate change has been seen as a problem that only central governments or international organisations could address. The truth is that we must all start acting now at local level.

'We believe it is the right thing to do and, following consultation, it is our hope to be in a position to implement the proposals by the New Year.'

Councillor David Trigg hoped other councils would adopt the scheme.'We are very hopeful that other councils will follow suit. We are the first in the country to implement a change such as this, and we would certainly hope that others do.'