Diesel drivers are paying 15 times more to park in London than electric vehicle owners as council is accused of ‘punishing’ motorists whose vehicles emit more CO2

• Greenwich council charges up to £825 for annual parking permits for diesel cars

Drivers of diesel cars in a London borough have to fork out as much as 15 times more to park than those with electric vehicles.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich charges residents with zero-emissions cars just £20 a year for a parking permit, but owners of the most polluting vehicles will have to fork out a massive £300.

Annual business parking permits are also 15 times more expensive for diesel vehicles with the highest emissions, being £55 for non-polluting cars and £825 for those emitting more than 255 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

The scheme, which builds on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Ulez scheme, is part of the council’s plans ‘to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in the borough’.

And hourly rates across the borough’s car parks vary wildly depending on emissions too, from as little as 70p per hour for a zero-emission car in a Band A car park, to as much as £7 for the most polluting vehicles in a Band C car park.

Greenwich council annual parking permit prices by emissions levels

The Royal Borough of Greenwich charges residents with zero-emissions cars just £20 a year for a parking permit, but owners of the most polluting vehicles will have to fork out a massive £300 (stock photo)

An hour of parking at a Band A car park is just 70p for an electric car, but £2 for a car with an emissions rate of more than 255 gCO2/km.

READ MORE: Sadiq Khan’s hated ULEZ expansion generated £5.3million in its first week after another 300,000 drivers were hit with fines

For Band B and C car parks these charges are £1.75 against £5 and £2.45 against £7 an hour, respectively.

An MP on the House of Commons transport committee branded the scheme, introduced in July this year, as ‘bonkers’, saying it punishes locals and businesses in the area.

Greg Smith told The Telegraph that local authorities need to ‘understand the real world’ of how and where people get to work, go shopping and take their children to school.

He added that policies designed to punish those driving what a ‘bureaucrat deems the “wrong sort” of car’ negatively impacts residents and businesses that need affordable and access to parking.

Tory leader of opposition at Greenwich council, Matt Hartley, told The Telegraph that he was ‘deeply concerned’ that the rise in parking costs will have on high streets and household finances already battered by the cost of living crisis.

A dozen London boroughs, including Hackney, Kensington & Chelsea and Lambeth have introduced similar schemes, basing parking charges on emissions levels.

Brighton and Hove City Council has also this month announced charges based on vehicle emissions.

Hourly rates across the borough’s car parks vary wildly depending on emissions too, from as little as 70p per hour for a zero-emission car in a Band A car park, to as much as £7 for the most polluting vehicles in a Band C car park (stock photo)

These schemes come after it was revealed that Sadiq Khan’s controversial ULEZ expansion generated £5.3million in its first week with 300,000 extra drivers charged for driving non-compliant vehicles within Greater London.

More than 425,000 ULEZ charges were paid in the week following the extension, compared to just 140,000 the week before.

The scheme, branded a ‘war on motorists’, is designed to limit harmful pollution and means that anyone with a non-compliant vehicle has to pay a daily £12.50 fee to drive within London – or a larger fine if this is not paid.

MailOnline has contacted The Royal Borough of Greenwich for comment.

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