Increase in the Fees and Charges FAQs
Why is the cost of my parking permits, visitor permits and paid for parking session increasing?
Following a review of the council’s budget, the council is changing paid for parking prices and all parking permit prices, except Disabled permit charges, in Newham from 8th August 2023. These changes will support Newham’s air quality action plan to improve air quality and will make the system simpler and more consistent whilst maintaining Newham’s commitment to its disabled residents. The changes are aimed at offering motorists a greater choice of parking and payment options, making tariffs and permit schemes more consistent.
Through the Fairer Newham strategy, the Council aims to balance providing convenient and value-for-money parking for Residents and Visitors whilst managing parking demand during peak times and reducing the environmental impact of traffic and harmful gases in line with the Mayors Air Quality Action Plan. There will be no change to the current Disabled Resident permit, which will remain free of charge
The changes support our continuing efforts to tackle the climate emergency by reducing emissions and encouraging the use of sustainable transport alternatives in line with the Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan.
Why am I being charged for a 1st Resident Permit for my electric vehicle?
Electric vehicles continue to receive the cheapest residential parking permits, and this recognises that they produce less air pollution. However, parking demand in Newham is very high, and as such, the nominal fee being charged by the Council is considered to be a reasonable annual charge for a parking space taken up by an electric vehicle.
The £33.00 charge per annum equates to just 63p per week or 10.5p per day based on a 6-day per week RPZ and, therefore, still offers heavily subsidised parking for residents with low CO2 emitting vehicles. The Council considers that this subsidy remains an ongoing incentive to encourage our residents to move to a greener, sustainable mode of transport.
Why can I no longer purchase a 3 or 6-month permit?
Whilst the Council have removed the 3 and 6 month permit options, they have replaced it with a 1-month option which the Council considers will continue to offer residents and businesses more than adequate flexibility when purchasing or renewing their permit and provide an option for short-term permits.
Will my one-month permit automatically renew?
You can auto-renew your monthly permit for 11 months; however, on the 12th month, you will have to renew manually and provide up-to-date documentation to renew your permit. Please visit https://www.newham.gov.uk/parking-permits/resident-parking-permits-1 to view the full list of documents you can upload.
If you choose the auto-renew option then it is your responsibility, as the permit holder to ensure that the parking permit has renewed. If the auto-renewal fails for a number of reasons including but not limited to the payment method being declined, then you as the the permit holder will be solely responsible for ensuring that they have made other arrangements to renew their permit. The council does not take any liability for the permit not auto-renewing or notifying the applicant that the permit auto renew has failed.
Why is there an additional Tier for business/charity/industrial permits?The Council have realigned business, charity and industrial emissions bandings to fall within the same tiering structure we use for our resident bandings. This is to ensure that vehicles are grouped using a standard tiering structure. The new five-tier system will help make the pricing structure fairer and ensure that the council is adapting to the huge change in the range of vehicles being used.
Why is the cost of a tier 1 business permit significantly higher than last year?The Council considers that a tier 1 business permit charge is still heavily subsidised compared to the other business permit tiers, and this permit continues to allow the vehicle to park in in any resident or shared use bay within all Newham RPZs. A shared use bay is where a permit and paid parking session are both valid. A £330 charge for a tier 1 business permit equates to just £1.06p per day, based on a 6-day RPZ and therefore still offers heavily subsidised parking for businesses with low CO2 emitting vehicles. The Council considers that this subsidy remains an ongoing incentive to encourage businesses to move to greener & sustainable modes of transport. While electric vehicles are better for the environment, they do cause some pollution.
Why have Paid for Parking sessions moved to emission-based charging? Parking fees and charges linked to emissions play an important role in influencing driver behaviour and can positively impact air quality and congestion, supporting the Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan.
The new charging structure from 8th August 2023 is more consistent and is now aligned to resident, visitor and business permit types which are now all subject to emission-based charging.
Why are my visitor permits linked to emissions?
Since January 2021, resident and business permit charges have been linked to vehicle emissions but to date this has not applied to visitor permits.
Therefore, to create fairness between residents and visitors, emissions charges will now be applied to visitors permits in the same way. As with resident and business permit charges, the lower the emissions of the visitor’s vehicle the lower the emission charge. The Council believes this will incentivise visiting motorists to make more environmentally friendly transport choices.
How many visitor permits am I allowed every month?
Currently, residents are allowed to purchase 20 visitor permits per month. From 08th August 2023 this will change to 240 visitor permits per annum. The allowance will renew every calendar year. For example, if you register your account on 08th August 2023, your allowance of 240 permits will renew the following year on 08th August 2024. This will be subject to uploading the applicable documentation
Once the annual allocation has been used, further visitor permits cannot be applied for until the renewal date has been reached. This process has been explained above.
How do I register and apply for my 240 per annum visitor permits?
In order to purchase the new emissions-based visitor permits, residents will be required to log in to their Mipermit account and click on buy digital permits, selecting the visitor permit option and following the required steps will allow the resident to gain access to the 240 permits allocated to their residential address, at this stage residents will be required to upload a proof of address. Once the registration has been completed, residents will be able to access the emissions-based visitor permits.
Can I purchase additional permits once I have reached my allowance?No unfortunately, residents are not allowed to use more than 240 visitor permits in a calendar year. Visitors can use PayByPhone to purchase a paid parking session for up to 4 hours depending on the zone they are parking in. Alternatively, visitors are encouraged to use greener methods of transport.
What changes are being made to visitor’s permits?
From 8th August 2023 we will be changing how residents purchase visitor permits, rather than residents being able to purchase 20 permits per month in blocks of 6 Hour, 12 hour and 24-hour permits. We will now provide residents with an allocation of 240 permits per household per annum once your account is registered.
Residents will still be able to purchase visitor permits for the existing hourly durations as set out above. However, these will now be sold as individual permits, and an additional emissions charge will be added with this charge being based on the C02 emissions that the visitor’s vehicle produces. The vehicles will be tiered as per the grouping on our website.
The 240 permit allowance limit covers all visitor permit types for example, you could purchase 140 x 6hr permits, 50 x 12hr permits & 50 x 24hr permits within the 12month period or any variation that the resident chooses up to the maximum 240 allowed within the 12month period.
What will happen to the existing visitor permits that I have purchased?
The Council will honour existing visitor permits and allow for them to be used until 31/03/2024 at this point, the permit will expire, and residents will be required to use the emissions-based resident permits. Anyone who has purchased visitor permit sessions before 8th August will be able to use those sessions until 31/03/2024, at which point they will expire.
I don’t have a vehicle; why am I no longer receiving 30 free visitor permits annually
The Council needs to act now to protect our health and our climate by reducing emissions from road transport. From 8th August 2023, all visitor permits will be linked to emissions, and to ensure fairness for all residents, this policy change needs to be applied to all residential households. Linking each visitor permit to an emissions charge is in line with the Mayor’s Air Quality Action plan to reduce vehicle journeys within Newham.
The higher the CO2 emissions of the visitor’s vehicle the higher the charge, and the Council considers this will be an incentive to deter vehicles with high emissions entering the borough or, in turn, incentivise visitors to move to greener modes of transport. Charging is seen as a clear means of deterring high-emission vehicles and as such and to ensure all residents are treated with fairness and consistency, the Council has agreed that the current free visitor permits will be removed from 8th August 2023
From 8th August 2023, an emission charge will apply to all resident visitor permits. Removing free permits will mean that a consistent approach is applied to all motorists visiting residents in Newham, who will need to be liable for an emissions charge linked to their vehicle.
By removing free visitor permits, the Council hopes to encourage sustainable alternatives for visitors to the borough, such as public transport, cycling and walking, and incentivise remaining motor vehicle use by vehicles that emit less carbon in line with the Mayor’s Air Quality Action Plan.
Road transport is a major source of harmful air pollution in Newham which is dangerous to us all, especially the young, old and people with health conditions like asthma.
Why has the cost of bay suspension charges & trade permit charges increased?
Following a review of the Council’s parking fees and charges, a new charging structure for permits, bay suspension charges & trade permits has been agreed. This is to ensure that whilst the Council experience rising costs due to the cost of living crisis and its impact on the economy, it can continue to meet the high cost of managing and maintaining our roads and designated parking spaces which in turn allows the Council to be still able to provide residents and motorists with the same level service currently available to them.
Please click on the links below for more information:
Why am I being asked to provide my council tax reference?
As part of the Council’s permit validation process, residents will be asked to provide their Council Tax Reference Number and businesses will need to provide their Business Rates Number to ensure that the applicant is eligible to apply for a permit at the chosen address.
