Latest Parking news

This page gives details of developments and changes which affect parking within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

To view previous news articles, please see the Archived Parking News page.

May 2011 - Parking bay suspension costs simplified

On 10 May 2011 the Cabinet Member for Traffic made the decision that (subject to call in), the charges made for parking bay suspensions by the Council from 18 May 2011 will be simplified. Details of the decision can be found on the Cabinet member decision page.

Instead of separate charges for parking bay suspensions based on the Community Parking Zone, zones will be grouped into categories with a fixed price per bay and day.

For current parking suspension pricing please see the Parking suspensions page.

This article was last updated 11 May 2011.

April 2011 - Revised parking contraventions and penalty charges

From 15 April 2011 the Council will be adopting revised parking contravention codes and penalty charges, in line with all other London boroughs, and in response to the London Councils published Standand PCN Codes v6.6(pdf, 77KB).

The main effects of this revision will be to

  • Update contravention codes in line with developments such as the introduction of mobile phone parking
  • Increase the 'Higher' level penalty charge from £120 to £130 for the Twickenham Event Zone and bus lane contraventions
  • Increase the 'Higher' level penalty charge from £100 to £110 for all other contraventions
  • Leave all 'Lower' penalty charges at their current levels of £80 for the Twickenham Event Zone, and £60 for all other zones.

'Higher' level contraventions are those deemed to present a danger or obstruction to other road users or pedestrians, or where no attempt has been made to park legally. 'Lower' level contraventions are deemed to be those where an attempt has been made to park legally.

The 50% discount on penalty charges paid within the discount period remains unchanged but will increase by £5 for 'Higher' level penalty charges, as does the 50% surcharge on issue of a Charge Certificate if the penalty charge is not paid.

The fee for registration at Court to issue an Order for Recovery increased from £5 to £7 on 4 April (see April 2011 - Changes to parking fees and payment).

For more information on the codes enforced by the Council and penalty charges see the Penalty Charge Notice contravention codes pages.

This article was last updated on 13 April 2011.

April 2011 - Fairer parking charges postponed

Richmond Council has decided to delay introduction of its new fairer parking charges for 10 weeks until 10 June. The new charges were originally scheduled to come into effect, in the two multi-storey car parks on Friday 1 April, with the remaining car parking locations at the end April/early May

The new parking charges are designed to specifically benefit residents by offering discounts and 30 minute free parking across the borough to those who hold a new Richmond Card.

However, It was decided this week that there were not a sufficient number of residents in a position to take advantage of the benefits from 1 of April. Therefore a 10 week delay has been announced to give local people more opportunity to get their new Richmond Cards, putting them in a position to claim the benefits.

In the meantime the New Richmond Card can be obtained by calling the Council on 08456 122660 or by visiting www.richmond.gov.uk/richmondcard

This article was posted on 31 March 2011.

April 2011 - Changes to parking fees and payment

Local rate telephone number for penalty charge notice payments

The Council is replacing its 0870 telephone payment number with a local rate 020 8 number. This is to minimise the cost to people wishing to pay by phone who may be calling using a mobile. These often charge even under 'all inclusive' call packages.

The number is changing from 0870 389 1389 to 020 8045 1171.

Although some documentation will still display the old payment line number, the new number can be used immediately for penalty charge notice payments.

Introduction of credit card handling fees from 1 April 2011

For some time the Council has been charging a credit card payment handling fee on the majority of payments, to cover the charges made by credit card companies back to the Council.

So far payments associated with Parking have been exempt, however, from 1 April 2011 there will be a 1.8% handling fee for making credit card payments on the following

  • New and renewed parking permits
  • Car park season tickets
  • RichmondCard online top-ups
  • Parking suspensions and dispensations.

The handling fee will not apply on the following

  • Payment of penalty charge notices
  • Pay and display charges at machines on-street
  • Multi-Storey car parks

More information on the decision to introduce this handling fee can be found on page 29 of the Agenda reports pack of the Environment, Sustainability and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 26 January 2011.

Increase to Court fees from 4 April 2011

When a penalty charge remains unpaid even after the issue of a Charge Certificate, the Council will register the debt at Northampton County Court Traffic Enforcement Centre.

The Court charges the Council for this service, and the Council then adds this charge to the outstanding fine amount.

From 4 April 2011 the Court is increasing its charge from £5 to £7. This will affect all new registrations requested by the Council, irrespective of when the penalty charge notice was issued, or the reason for doing so.

More information on why the Court charges for its services can be found at the HMCS 'Why we charge' page.

This article was published on 23 March 2011. Any enquiries should be made to parking online.

January 2011 - CO2 charges to be scrapped

Following various Councillor meetings and a public consulation, Councillors approved a number of changes to the Council's parking charges on 11 January 2011 (see the Council Cabinet meeting 12 July 2010 and Environment, Sustainability and Community Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting 11 January 2011).

These changes seek to remove the parking 'tax' introduced by the previous administration as promised in the Conservative election manifesto of May 2010, and make parking fairer for all residents, businesses, and visitors to the borough.

The main elements of the changes are

Community parking zone permits

  • Scrapping charges based on engine CO2 emissions or cylinder capacity
  • Reduce baseline permit prices by 10% from pre-2007 prices
  • Retention of free permits for Band A vehicles (registered on or after 01/03/2001 with engine CO2 emissions of <= 100g/Km)
  • Scrapping of 2 year permits
  • Retention of the 50% surcharge for second and subsequent permits
  • Simplification of the refund process.

These changes came into effect from 1 February 2011. See the Car parking permits pages for more details after this date.

On- and off-street parking charges

  • Scrapping of 'High', 'Standard' and 'Low' charges based on engine CO2 emissions or cylinder capacity
  • Introduction of free 30 minute parking for residents using a RichmondCard or mobile phone parking
  • 10% discount to residents under 75 years old using a RichmondCard or mobile phone parking for sessions over 30 minutes
  • 20% discount to residents over 75 years old using a RichmondCard or mobile phone parking for sessions over 30 minutes
  • 5% rise in the base charges for all pay and display parking for up to 2 hours parking; 10% rise for 2 to 6 hours parking; 15% for over 6 hours.

The implemetation of these charges has been postponed until 10 June to allow more residents time to apply for RichmondCards and be able to get the free parking and discounts. See April 2011- Fairer parking charges postponed. See also the Car parks and CPZ times and maps pages for updates.

This article was posted 27/01/2011 with updates 23/03/2011 and 31/03/2011. Any enquiries should be made to parking online.

January 2011 - Barnes parking zones changes come into effect

In August 2010 the Council published new Traffic Management Orders for the Barnes community parking zones (legally known as community parking zones). Copies of the orders can be downloaded from the Traffic Order Library.

Following a great deal of work on-street to implement the changes, the revised zones are now in operation and residents will notice changes in permits and enforcement from January 2011, specifically

  • Penalty Charge Notices will no longer show zones CB1, CB2 M3
  • Residents of zones CB1 and CB2 have been moved into zone B1, and so permit renewal reminder letters and new permits will show zone B1.

The changes in permits affect the following residences

  • Barnes High Street (numbers 6-67 and Seaforth Lodge) - residents moved from CB1 to B1
  • Barnes High Street (all numbers) - businesses moved from CB1 to B1
  • Bellevue Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Berkeley Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Beverley Close - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Beverley Gardens - moved from CB2 to B1
  • Beverley Path - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Beverley Road - moved from CB2 to B1
  • Brookwood Avenue - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Cambridge Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Cardigan Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Castelnau Mansions - No longer eligible for B1 permit, only B (Hammersmith Bridge) as B permits are valid throughout zone B1
  • Cedars Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Charlotte Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Church Road - businesses moved from CB1 to B1
  • Cleveland Gardens - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Ellison Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Gerard Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Glebe Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Grange Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Grove Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Hillersdon Avenue - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Kitson Road - moved from CB1 to B1 (numbers not previously in B1)
  • Laurel Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Lonsdale Road - Bulls Head Public House moved from CB1 to B1
  • Lowther Road - moved from CB1 to B1 (numbers not previously in B1)
  • Lyric Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Malthouse Passage - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Maltings Close - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Melrose Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Malville Road - moved from CB1 to B1 (numbers not previously in B1)
  • Mill Hill Road (numbers 1 and 2 only) - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Nassau Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Parke Road - moved from CB1 to B1 (numbers not previously in B1)
  • Ranelagh Avenue (numbers 14-32) - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Rectory Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • St Anns Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Stanton Road - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Station Road (odd numbers 3-47; even numbers 18-118; Essex Court; Methodist Church) - moved from CB1 and CB2 to B1
  • Suffolk Road - moved from CB1 to B1 (numbers not previously in B1)
  • Terrace Gardens - moved from CB1 to B1
  • The Crescent - moved from CB1 to B1
  • The Hermitage - moved from CB1 to B1
  • The Terrace (numbers 3-16A; The Old Ticket Office) - moved from CB1 to B1
  • Willow Avenue - moved from CB2 to B1

This article was posted 27 January 2011. Any enquiries should be made to parking online.

January 2011 - New parking enforcement contractor

Following their successful tender in 2010, the Council awarded its parking enforcement contract to Vinci Park. The contract is reduced in contrast to that of the previous contractor NSL Services Group Ltd as it no longer includes the provision of a Parking Shop.

The changeover was effectively managed by staff from both Vinci and the Council on 8 and 9 January 2011 and included the closure of two Community Enforcement Officer bases; closure of the Parking Shop (see below); opening of a completely new Community Enforcement Officer base; and go-live of new enforcement equipment used by officers incorporating cameras, mobile phone parking and parking permit data.

Work is continuing to ensure that the Council provides fair and effective parking enforcement.

This article was posted 27 January 2011. Any enquiries should be made to parking online.

December 2010 - The Parking Shop closed

The Parking Shop closed permanantly on 11 December 2010 saving the Council £430,000 a year.

In January 2009 the Council Cabinet approved a number of parking initiatives including closing the Parking Shop and providing more services electronically. Follow this link to open a copy of the Fees and Charges 2009/10 – Parking Charges and Payment Facilities report approved by Cabinet.

Since that time there has been a growing pressure for the Council to work more efficiently and save money. In response we have introduced a number of services such as

Services such as the provision of parking permits and parking suspensions are now provided by 'back office' teams. A counter service is no longer available. Any calls, emails or post are diverted to the new teams.

People wishing to discuss parking matters can call, email or write to staff (see the Parking contacts and feedback page), or can use the content of this website for further information.

This article was posted on 30 November 2010 and was updated 27 January 2011. Any enquiries should be made to parking online.

October 2010 - Visitor and Trader parking goes electronic

From Monday 4 October the Council is introducing new parking 'accounts' in partnership with RingGo, which can be used instead of the traditional scratch cards. Residents and traders will now be able to register for a parking account which will let you book parking sessions for vehicles using a phone only, this means

  • No need to buy permits in advance, you pay as you book parking
  • No need to display a permit in the vehicle, enforcement officers can see using handheld devices which vehicles have paid to park.

The number of parking sessions, where vehicles can park and price for parking will NOT be changing. You will only pay more if you opt for one of the value-added services offered by RingGo such as a confirmation text when you book a parking session, or a reminder text when it is about to expire.

If you are a resident and have provided proofs within the last 12 months, you'll be able to apply without having to provide your proofs again.

The Council still needs you to fill in an application form to ensure that you agree with the terms of the service, but these can be downloaded from the Resident visitor parking or Traders parking pages and sent back by fax, email or post. Alternatively there is still a counter service at the Parking Shop until the end of the year for personal applications.

Residents and Traders wanting to continue using scratch cards can apply for them at the Parking Shop, contact details on the Parking contact details page.

This article was posted on 1 October 2010, and was updated on 5 and 8 November 2010. Any enquiries should be made to parking online.

March 2010 – Emissions based tariffs introduced at Arragon Road and Paradise Road multi-storey car parks

From Monday 22 March the emissions based tariffs already in place at all other Council run car parks and at pay and display machines will be extended to include the Arragon Road (Twickenham) and Paradise Road (Richmond) multi-storey car parks.

‘Medium’ emission vehicles are eligible for a 20% discount with ‘Low’ emission vehicles eligible for a 60% discount from the new standard tariff which will be charged for all other vehicles. To take advantage of the discounts drivers will need to use a RichmondCard when paying for their parking.

Follow this link for the new Arragon Road MSCP tariffs; this link for the new Paradise Road MSCP tariffs; or this link for information on how to apply for a RichmondCard and vehicle emissions.

This article was last updated on 18/03/2010.

March 2010 - North Barnes (B1) community parking zone extended

From Monday 22 March 2010 the North Barnes CPZ (B1) will be extended to include Brook Gardens, Warwick Drive and parts of Gipsy Lane.

Warning notices will be issued to vehicles found parking illegally between Monday 22 March 2010 and Wednesday 31 March 2010, after which Penalty Charge Notices will be issued.

For more information, please refer to the Community Parking Zone changes page.

This article was posted on 3 February 2010.

Feburary 2010 - St Margarets South (S) and Teddington (T) community parking zones extended

From Monday 15 February 2010 the St Margarets South CPZ (S)will be extended to include Sidney Road, Cole Park View, Moor Mead Road, Kenley Road, The Grove and Godstone Road.

From Monday 22 February 2010 the Teddington CPZ (T) will be extended to include the currently uncontrolled portion of Clarence Road, and Doone Close.

For more information, please refer to the Community Parking Zone changes page.

This article was posted on 13 January 2010.

November 2009 - 'Free' RichmondCard offer extended

The £2.50 administration fee for a new RichmondCard will continue to be waived until Monday 4 January 2010, instead of the 2 November 2009 as originally advertised. This is to allow more people to take advantage of the RichmondCard at no additional cost.

RichmondCards are issued for use in pay and display meters and car parks throughout the borough, both for payment for parking and to apply Medium and Low tariffs.

To find out more about the RichmondCard or to apply, please see the RichmondCard page.

This article was last updated 12/11/2009.