Haringey’s Labour-run council hit the national news earlier this month as residents were left reeling from a shock proposal to triple their parking fees.

This was caused by the council choosing to abolish daily visitor permits for residents living in controlled parking zones (CPZs).

As an opposition councillor I don’t expect to support everything the council does, but even I was shocked that the council would put forward this proposal, particularly during a cost-of- living crisis.

Thankfully, the council is unable to implement this decision without a statutory consultation (due to take place in the autumn), but the plans are now well and truly in motion.

The majority of residents in Haringey live in CPZs - meaning residents have to get a permit from the council to park outside their house, and non-residents are unable to park.

Cllr Scott Emery says the majority of residents will be mpacted by the council's plans to axe visitor parking permitsCllr Scott Emery says the majority of residents will be mpacted by the council's plans to axe visitor parking permits (Image: Haringey Council)

In order to allow visitors to park on the street, residents have to purchase daily or hourly permits. Daily permits cost £5, whilst hourly permits are £1.20. The council’s proposal will see daily permits abolished, hugely increasing the cost for visitor parking, and making the process far more inconvenient.

In Wood Green, for example, CPZ hours run from 8am to 10pm each day, so buying enough hourly permits would cost £16.80, and require far more admin to be undertaken by the resident using the permit - having to renew it every hour for their visitor, rather than buying a daily pass and then getting on with their day.

It is hard to understand how the council could come up with such a bonkers proposal even if you were to disregard the massive cost increase.

The council claims that it wants to abolish the daily permit due to ‘anecdotal evidence’ of abuse, but when I asked the councillor in charge of the scheme about it, no such evidence could be produced.

What’s more, she told me that the council “need to get value out of our land,” seemingly giving the game away that these changes are a straightforward cash grab.

Whacking up the costs on residents like this is totally unfair, and is not something the council should be considering at the best of times, let alone when so many people are struggling to make ends meet.

I really hope that the backlash this plan has already caused will cause the council to reconsider, because their proposals should never have made it this far.

  • Cllr Scott Emery  is Liberal Democrat opposition spokesperson on Environment and Transport for Haringey Council.