Archived parking news

This page contains articles previously published on the Latest Parking News page which have been moved to allow for current articles. Some articles on this page have been summarised since their publication.

January 2009 - Cabinet approves parking iniatives

At the Councils cabinet meeting on 19 January 2009 a number of parking initiatives were approved, including

  • Keeping the current baseline cost of car parking permits
  • Changing the permit price for Vicarage Road (zone M1) and Ferry Road (zone Z2) to be in line with other zone with the same operational hours, i.e. bringing the baseline cost up from £75 to £100
  • Re-banding car parking permits in line with the revised bands proposed by the DVLA
  • Increasing car park charging hours for some car parks
  • Withdrawing Voucher Parking
  • Increasing parking services accessibility by replacing the Parking Shop with online, telephone and Civic Centre based services
  • The introduction of mobile phone parking and a 'Richmond Smart Card'
  • The go-ahead to consult on introducing CO2 based charges in car parks.

Click here to open a copy of the Fees and Charges 2009/10 – Parking Charges and Payment Facilities report approved by Cabinet.

This article was last updated 9 March 2009, and was archived 13 January 2010.

October 2008 - Replacement of all on-street pay and display machines and parking meters

Richmond council is investing £1.6 million to install over 300 on-street pay and display machines to replace the existing equipment.

The current equipment has been in service for up to 15 years in some cases and has reached the end of its useful live span.  Faults not only inconvenience drivers but are also expensive and sometimes impossible to repair.

After a proper evaluation of the situation the Council decided to phase out the existing multi-bay meters, lollipop meters and the pay and display machines starting early 2008.

The machines are being replaced with Strada Rapide pay and display machines manufactured by Parkeon. These have a better design, modern technology and enhanced capability, specifically

  • Solar power
  • High level of tamper resistance
  • Payment by cash and card
  • User-friendly, interactive and easy to use
  • Disability Discrimination Act compliant
  • A remote fault reporting and data management system also aids better planning, monitoring and control of the machines.

The phasing out of the multi-bay and lollipop meters is near completion. It is projected that multi-bay meters will all be phased out by the end of October, with remaining lollipop meters replaced shortly after. The third phase of implementation (to replace pay and display machines) has commenced and is on target to be completed by the 31st of December 2008.

For more information please see the Parking meters page.

This article was last updated 15 October 2008, and was archived 13 January 2010.

October 2008 - Teddington Controlled Parking Zone (Zone T) extension

From Monday 27 October Springfield Road will be added to the Teddington Controlled Parking Zone (Zone T).  Warning notices will be issued between Monday 27 and Friday 31 October to vehicles found to be parking illegally, and live Penalty Charge Notices will be issued from Monday 3 November.

The following locations will be added as eligible for zone T parking permits

  • High Street, Teddington - Even numbers 6 to 42 and odd numbers 25 to 89a only
  • Park Road - Numbers 89 to 92 only
  • Springfield Road
  • Wades Lane

Residents and businesses can apply for permits, however businesses will be eligible for one permit only each.

For more information on the zone, please see the Controlled Parking Zones times and maps page.

To find out how to apply for permits, please see the Residents parking permits page; Resident visitor parking permits page; or Business parking permits page.

This article was last updated 15 October 2008, and was archived 9 March 2009.

October 2008 - St Margarets South Controlled Parking Zone (Zone S) extension

From Monday 20 October Winchester Road and Bridge Road will be included in the St Margarets South Controlled Parking Zone (Zone S). Warning notices will be issued to illegally parked vehicles until Friday 31 October, and from Monday 3 November live Penalty Charge Notices will be issued. Parking permits will be available to residents and businesses in these two streets.

For more information please see the St Margarets South extension page.

This article was posted 29 September 2008, and was archived 9 March 2009.

June 2008 - New Controlled Parking Zone for Teddington (Zone T)

From Monday 16 June 2008, controlled parking was introduced in Teddington.

Controlled parking operates between the hours of 8:30am and 10:30am, Monday to Friday (excluding Good Friday, Christmas Day and bank holidays).

Residents and businesses in the following locations are eligible for permits

  • Adelaide Road
  • Albert Road
  • Avenue Road
  • Blackmores Grove
  • Bridgeman Road
  • Cedar Road
  • Christchurch Avenue
  • Clarence Road - even numbers 2 to 36 and odd numbers 1 to 41
  • Doone Close
  • Enterprise Way
  • Field Lane - including Hales Court
  • High Street - Elmfield House, Numbers 2, 3, and 68, and Resident Visitor permits only for number 70
  • Meadow Cottages
  • Old Station Gardens
  • Park Road - even numbers 2 to 30 and odd numbers 1 to 87
  • Station Road - including Park House
  • The Cedars
  • Thelma Grove
  • Victoria Road
  • Waldegrave Road - even numbers 2 to 8 and odd numbers 1 to 69
  • White Heron Mews

For more information on the zone, please see the Controlled Parking Zones times and maps page.

To find out how to apply for permits, please see the Residents parking permits page; Resident visitor parking permits page; or Business parking permits page.

This article was last updated 29 September 2008, and was archived 9 March 2009.

May 2008 - New Controlled Parking Zone for Mortlake (Zone M)

From Monday 19 May 2008, controlled parking was introduced in Mortlake.

Controlled parking operates between the hours of 9:00am and 11:00am, Monday to Friday (excluding Good Friday, Christmas Day and bank holidays).

Residents and businesses in the following locations are eligible for permits

  • Alder Road
  • Archway Street
  • Vineyard Path
  • Westfields
  • Westfields Avenue
  • White Hart Lane - even numbers 2-78; odd numbers 1-95 (Inc Railway Cottage) only
  • Worple Street
  • Ashleigh Road
  • Avondale Road
  • Bulls Alley
  • Charles Street
  • Cowley Road
  • Cross Street
  • Dovecote Gardens
  • Elm Bank Gardens
  • First Avenue
  • Fitzgerald Road
  • James Terrace
  • Limes Field Road
  • Mortlake High Street - even numbers 2-338 and odd numbers 69-153 only
  • Mullins Path
  • North Worple Way
  • Railway Side
  • Ripley Gardens
  • Second Avenue
  • Sheen Lane - odd numbers 11-29 only
  • The Broadway
  • The Terrace - The Tower to number 33 and Ye White Hart pub only
  • Thorne Passage
  • Thorne Street
  • Victoria Road

For more information on the zone, please see the Controlled Parking Zones times and maps page.

To find out how to apply for permits, please see the Residents parking permits page; Resident visitor parking permits page; or Business parking permits page.

This article was last updated 29 September 2008, and was archived 9 March 2009.

March 2008 - New parking regulations

The Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004) should provide motorists with a fairer and better understanding of parking enforcement across the country. Richmond Council welcomes the new regulations, helping us to improve our standards in parking and indeed raise those within the parking industry as a whole.

What changes will I notice as a motorist in the borough?

There will be no noticeable changes to our parking schemes within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

  • Parking restrictions and controls remain the same
  • Vehicles in contravention of parking restrictions will still be issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN)
  • PCN charges are unaffected
  • The process in which a motorist can challenge a PCN remains the same
  • Car park and meter parking charges remain unchanged
  • Permit holder parking and permit costs are unaffected.

What changes will the TMA 2004 introduce?

  • Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) will be known as Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE)
  • A Parking Attendant (PA) will be known as a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO)
  • The legislation places a greater requirement on Local Authorities to publish their policies and procedures and to publicly report on them
  • Section 94 of the TMA 2004 gives the police, traffic wardens and local authority officers involved with parking enforcement the statutory power to inspect Blue Badges for disabled motorists. This is to help reduce abuse of the Blue Badge parking scheme
  • Local Authorities will have the power to serve penalty charge notices (PCN) by post in circumstances where a vehicle has driven away before the notice can be served or where the CEO has been prevented from serving the notice by threats of violence
  • Some minor changes in timescales and documentation in respect of the penalty charge notice appeals process have been determined within the TMA. [More information on the appeals process will be printed on recovery notices]
  • Independent adjudicators at the Parking & Traffic Appeals Service will have the power to instruct local authorities to cancel charges under the grounds of ‘procedural impropriety’
  • Independent adjudicators at the Parking & Traffic Appeals Service will have the power to refer cases back to local authorities to reconsider cases where a contravention has taken place but mitigating circumstances have been presented.

What is the new legislation trying to achieve?

The main aim of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA 2004) is to improve consistency across the country, bringing together enforcement practices of local authorities both inside and outside of London, whilst still allowing parking policies, which must have regard for the TMA but also suit local needs and circumstances. The new legislation also seeks to ensure that the system is fair for the motorist, as well as effective in enforcing parking contraventions.

The legislation highlights the need for Councils to be more transparent about their parking management policies and the importance of delivering a quality service. This means that we will undertake regular reviews of our policies through consultation with our stakeholders, communicate these policies effectively to the public and review performance.

To help Local Authorities working with the new legislation, the Secretary of State has issued statutory guidance, ‘Traffic Management Act 2004. Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement’.

The majority of the requirements and recommendations specified within the guidance document have already been encompassed into the working practices of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames; we will however further use the guidance as the foundation for all our parking policies and procedures once the TMA is introduced.

For more information on the guidance or the Traffic Management Act 2004, please visit the Department for Transport website.

For more information you can email parking@richmond.gov.uk.

This article was posted on 26 March 2008 and was archived on 29 September 2008.