Across the UK hundreds of thousands have been forced to pay money for parking permits over the past few years. Councils have increased residential parking zones by an additional 2,500 streets over the past three years, found an investigation by Churchill Car Insurance since 2016. Permits cost between £25 and a few hundreds of pounds of higher polluting cars which generated significant money for councils. These permits generated around £200,000 a day for councils every day in 2018 and a total of £242million over the past three years.
It is estimated that three million motorists have seen the price of their permits soar and around 42 per cent of drivers surveyed claimed they are too expensive.
Prices do depend on the area of the country you reside in. For example in Norwich permit prices, which are based on the length of your car, cost from £24.60 to £52.80 per year.
In contrast to this is motorists in Edinburgh who can pay up to £524 to park on the street, for a permit bases on street location and vehicle emissions.
Last year, research revealed that some motorists pay over £1,200 for a parking permit – with motorists at London Barbican forking out the most.
There has been a decline in the number of permit applications from two million in 2016 to 1.4million in 2018.
This could be due to the rising costs in permits but could also be as a result of the declining car sales.
Alex Borgnis, head of car insurance at Churchill, said: “For people who live in towns and cities, parking close to home can be a challenge, with access to available parking on many streets being in short supply.
“While the cost of permits can be frustrating for residents, they can make it significantly easier for people to park outside their own homes.
“Whether you have access to residential parking, own a permit, or are unable to park your vehicle outside your home, it is important to always take the necessary precautions to limit the chances of your car being stolen or damaged.”
But Martin Tett, of the Local Government Association, said to ThisIsMoney: “Parking schemes are only introduced following requests by people who wish to park near their homes.”
As a result of the increases, permit prices could continue to grow over the next coming years.
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