We are shocked and appalled by Labour-run London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s decision to double and in some cases quadruple parking charges in our borough.
Even the lowest emission vehicles still face a doubling of parking charges in some parts of the borough. This just goes to show Hammersmith & Fulham Council don't actually prioritise looking to be greener, since they are penalising electric vehicles. This is about LBHF looking to rake in more money from residents, plain and simple.
We are concerned that the Council is demonstrating unfair treatment towards small businesses, young families and vulnerable people who rely on a car.
During the pandemic it is irresponsible to discourage car use through exorbitant parking charges, as this could lead to an overcrowding of public transport and increased transmission of Covid-19.
We are alarmed too at the impact this policy will have on small shops, businesses and our high streets, already horrendously affected by Covid. They all rely on customers who park their cars on our borough’s streets, as opposed to large shopping centres and supermarkets that have their own car parks and will benefit from this policy. This policy will kill our highly valued local high streets and specialist shops.
We believe that these parking charges will encourage people to avoid shopping in Hammersmith & Fulham and instead drive further to other boroughs with less punitive parking regimes, causing longer car journeys, increased emissions, congestion and pollution.