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Angry residents Pushkin Cambridge, John Hayes, Lisa Miles and Liz Case |
GREEN TAX IS PARKING MAD
Council ‘little better than a money-grabbing finance company’
THE borough’s motorists are on the warpath this week with owners of modest-sized vehicles claiming they are being stung by a new “green stealth tax” aimed at four-wheel drive gas guzzlers.
Thousands of residents – including many of Islington’s poorest – were seeing demands for annual parking permits drop through their letter boxes. As the row heated up this week, the Tribune took up the case of one motorist, resulting in Islington Council dramatically reducing its demand of £160 to £55.
Financial Times sub editor John Hayes from Tufnell Park thanked the newspaper and called on residents to appeal rather than accept the level of annual permit increases.
For the first time, increases are based on a vehicle’s CO2 emissions and its engine size.
Residents with cars more than seven years old with large engines will face the biggest increase of between 70 to 100 per cent.
Under the scheme being introduced next month, emissions are gauged only for vehicles purchased after 2001. Older vehicles are judged on engine size – whether or not they emit more fumes.
Mr Hayes, of Beversbrook Road, who is married with two young children, was told that his annual parking permit would increase by 70 per cent – from £95 to £160 – even though he drives a family size 1998 Volkswagen Passat diesel car.
“I don’t like four-wheel drive gas guzzlers,” he said. “I’m not even keen on TV motoring personality Jeremy Clarkson. But I didn’t like being stung by the council who appeared to be behaving little better than a money-grabbing finance company.”
He argued that the council had put him in an upper band for polluting CO2 output simply because he drives a car made before 2001.
“I spoke to the Society for Car Manufacturers and they said that based on the age and CO2 emissions for my vehicle, I should be in a much lower band.
“They told me that based on their estimates I should be paying no more than £55 a year.”
Following calls to the council this week, Mr Hayes got a letter yesterday (Thursday) confirming that he would only be paying £55 for his annual permit.
“I’m delighted,” he added. “I’m particularly thankful to the Tribune who took the matter up.”
Now a group of residents in Tufnell Park are planning to appeal and are expecting support from across the borough. They argue that the scheme has serious anomalies.
The row follows the first referendum of its kind in Britain, when more than 20,000 residents in Islington voted for owners of high-polluting cars to pay an increase for annual parking. More than 15,000 voted against.
Mother-of-two Pushkin Cambridge’s permit for her two-door 1998 BMW has almost doubled from £95 to £200.
Mrs Cambridge, who lives in Yerbury Road with her taxi driver husband Roger, added: “It’s got a 2-litre engine but it is not a gas guzzler. It’s a good strong car and we don’t want to change it. I thought they had made a mistake when I got the demand.
“Not only that, but I’m already paying for the emissions every time I buy my road tax. So in effect I’m being charged twice.”
Mrs Cambridge added: “My car is not a gas guzzler or a four-wheel drive. It’s a family car. It has a large engine but the emissions are low. It’s actually a very economic car to drive.”
Former marketing consultant Liz Case has a 2000 Vauxhall Saphira people carrier with a 2.2-litre engine.
“I now pay £195 even though I voted against the scheme. This is not a green issue it’s a parking issue. I also have three young children aged two, five and seven, who can’t get around on public transport.”
The residents have until December to pay the increase or will lose their parking permits.
Local Labour Cllr Wally Burgess, chairman of the council’s sustainability committee, sympathised with residents who have found themselves in a similar situation to Mr Hayes’s.
He added: “A lot of things are not quite right about this scheme. Questions need answering because there are plenty of opportunities for anomalies.
“Most people when they voted in favour were thinking of four-wheel drive gas guzzlers, not the kind of vehicle that Mr Hayes owns. The devil is in the detail.”
Cllr Lucy Watt, executive member for environment on Islington Council, said the resident permit charges are designed to encourage people to think about the environmental impact of their vehicle.
She added: “The pros and cons of the new tariffs were spelled out clearly in our summer referendum – where a good turn out of residents voted in favour of the scheme.
“As DVLA information on CO2 emissions is only available for vehicles registered on or after March 1, 2001, we have used engine size to determine charges before this time.
“It’s generally understood that vehicles with larger engine sizes tend to have a greater impact on the environment.
“We’ve always said there would be winners and losers from the new tariffs but it’s not an income generator – it’s designed to be revenue neutral.” |
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