Conservatives Get Cross Party Support

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to win vote against parking charges for Richmond Park

The Conservatives won an important vote in Parliament on Wednesday night (Wed 10th March) calling on the Government to rethink their plans to introduce parking charges at Richmond and Bushy Parks: 

Parking Charges:                  

up to 1 hour	£1.00
1-1.5 hours	£1.50
1.5-2 hours	£2.00
2-3 hours	£2.50
over 3 hours	£3.00

Length of Visit:

up to 1 hour	1-2 hours	2-3 hours	over 3   hours
16%	49%	27%	7%

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The vote in the House of Lords produced a rare Lords defeat for the Government, with almost twice as many Peers supporting the Conservative motion against the charges than opposing it – 136 to 71.

The considerable cross-party involvement, including Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and independent cross bench Peers, sends a clear message to Ministers about the widespread opposition to the planned parking charges.

Shadow Minister for London, and MP for Putney, Justine Greening has called the Conservative victory in the House of Lords a major blow to the Government’s planned parking charges in Richmond and Bushy Parks.  Ms Greening said:
“This vote shows the widespread opposition to these charges, and calls on the Government to rethink plans which could lead to massive bills for the many residents who regularly enjoy this wonderful local resource. I'm delighted we were able to get cross party support for our amendment scrapping the car park charges. Parks Minister Margaret Hodge needs to accept the Lords vote and ditch the charges.”

Miss Greening is also writing to the Royal Parks Agency, calling on them not to proceed with the charges until after an election, and Londoners have had a democratic chance to have their say on the charges. The Conservatives have pledged not to go ahead with the parking charges if elected.  Miss Greening has consistently campaigned against the Government’s planned charges, which are opposed by 84% of respondents to the Royal Parks consultation, and at £1/hour could prove unaffordable to many low income visitors to the park.

Visit Frequency and Length combined:

How often and how long do people visit Richmond Park by car
	up to 1 hour	1-2 hours	2-3 hours	over 3 hours
5 times a week or more	3.8%	11.8%	6.5%	1.7%
1-4 times a week	7.0%	21.6%	11.9%	3.1%
1-3 times a month	2.2%	6.9%	3.8%	1.0%
5-10 times a year	1.0%	2.9%	1.6%	0.4%
2-4 times a year	0.8%	2.5%	1.4%	0.4%
once a year	0.2%	0.5%	0.3%	0.1%
less than once a year	0.5%	1.5%	0.8%	0.2%
first visit	0.3%	1.0%	0.5%	0.1%

Annual Cost:

Annual Cost of visiting Richmond Park by car
	up to 1 hour	1-2 hours	2-3 hours	over 3 hours
5 times a week or more	£260.00	£455.00	£650.00	£780.00
1-4 times a week	£104.00	£182.00	£260.00	£312.00
1-3 times a month	£24.00	£42.00	£60.00	£72.00
5-10 times a year	£7.00	£12.25	£17.50	£21.00
2-4 times a year	£3.00	£5.25	£7.50	£9.00
once a year	£1.00	£1.75	£2.50	£3.00
less than once a year	£0.50	£0.88	£1.25	£1.50
first visit	£1.00	£1.75	£2.50	£3.00

 

Summary:

Annual Cost	Visitors by Car to Richmond Park
Over £100	67%
£20-£100	14%
£5-£20	10%
Under £5	7%
Average Cost	£213

Previous analysis of the charges has shown that almost half of those driving to the park are from working class and lower middle class families, with a typical user, visiting twice a week and staying for 1-2hours, facing £180 a year parking bill if the charges are brought in. More frequent visitors would face bills approaching £800 (see tables above).

The Government have claimed that the purpose of the parking charges is to discourage park visitors from driving to the park, but many have little choice other than to drive, as statistics show 83% of car park users live over a mile away from the park. Public transport options are also limited, with the nearest tube station a 30 minute walk away, and the Government admitting Richmond Park “is only averagely served by public transport”.

Letter from Margaret Hodge to Justine Greening MP:

 

March 12, 2010