Residents parking

With more and more of us owning cars, and the conversion of many properties from single residences into flats, parking within London is becoming a greater problem as time goes by.  In addition, the number of cars on our street can cause serious safety and traffic flow problems.

Controlled Parking Zones

To alleviate this, most councils within London have introduced Controlled Parking Zones.  These restrict parking to specific areas during prescribed hours so only those drivers eligible to park can do so.

If you are a resident of a Controlled Parking Zones and wish to park during the restricted hours then you will need to purchase a Parking Permit.  This will allow you to park in a residents parking bay.

If you do not wish to park regularly during the restricted times (e.g. you drive to work or usually park on private land), or you do not have a car but will have visitors who do, then you may want to consider using Pay and Display bays, Meter bays, Voucher bays or purchasing half-day Resident Visitor Permits for parking in Resident Bays.

Special Parking Areas

If you do not live within a Controlled Parking Zone, then by default you live within a Special Parking Area.  In a Special Parking Area you do not need any sort of permit to park, however, you still need to be aware of yellow lines, and the fact that parking on a pavement is not allowed anywhere within London unless a pavement has been specifically signed and lined for residents to do so.

Twickenham Event Days

The Twickenham Event Zone is a special case in that the majority of streets within it are Special Parking Areas, except on Event Days in which case Controlled Parking Zone R comes into effect.

If you live in the Twickenham Event Zone then you may need to have an Event Zone Residents Permit for parking on street during event days.  You can also get an Event Zone Resident Visitors Permit for a visitor to your household.

Please see the Twickenham Event Days pages for more information.

New residents and moving in

If you are new to the area and need to find out if you will be within a Controlled Parking Zone then please see the CPZ Times and Maps page for information.

Residents of newly built or converted properties need to be aware that they may not be allowed Resident Parking Permits as the Council now restricts parking availability as part of planning applications.  See the properties not allowed resident parking permits page for more information.

To arrange for a suspension (i.e. to reserve residents' bays) or dispensation (i.e. to temporarily park on a yellow line) for removal vans, please see the Suspensions and Dispensations page or contact The Parking Shop, details on the Parking contact details page.

Illegal parking

People who do not respect the restrictions in place and park illegally will be liable to Parking Fines.  If you see anyone parking illegally then you should let us know using the information on the Parking contact details page as they could be causing an obstruction and preventing legitimate parking.

Questions

If you have questions regarding Parking within the Borough which are not answered by this site (including the Frequently Asked Questions, Event Zone Frequently Asked Questions and Facts and Fiction pages), then you can contact us directly using the information on the Parking contact details page, or by emailing parking@richmond.gov.uk.