Freetopark.co.uk – Free Parking in London

Campaigners are demanding a top-level inquiry into how Westminster council underestimated the number of parking bays threatened by its planned “nightlife tax” by 500 per cent.

The Evening Standard revealed recently that while the official figure used throughout the public consultation into plans to replace single-yellow lines with pay & display bays across the West End was 1,700, the true number is more than 8,400.

The correct figure was only included in the appendix of a report which critics say was “sneaked out” at 3.30pm on December 23, as Londoners were winding down for Christmas. Martin Low, the council’s commissioner for transport, blamed an email blunder for the mistake.

He said: “I had asked colleagues in an email for the total length of single-yellow lines to be converted into charging bays in metres, but I was supplied with the number of bays. I mistakenly thought I had been given the length in metres, so I divided the figure by five [the average length of a bay is five metres], and that is why there is the discrepancy.”

But while Mr Low apologised for the error, the architect of the plan to axe free evening and Sunday parking spaces across the West End – which has now been placed on hold by a High Court judge until after the Olympics – was less contrite.

Councillor Lee Rowley, said: “The council highlighted the mistake by making the correct information available on its website.”

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Labour’s leader on the council, said blaming an administrative error was “simply not good enough” and called on Mike More, the council’s chief executive, to launch a formal investigation. Mr Dimoldenberg said: “People deserve a proper explanation.”

Westminster says removing the free evening and Sunday spaces is vital to keep traffic flowing. But an alliance of business leaders said the plan would sound the death knell for the area and put the safety of night-time workers at risk.

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Westminster Council has this afternoon announced that it has decided to convert 1,191 single yellow line parking spaces in the West End to double yellow lines in January, thereby making it illegal to park at any time.

The anouncement, made at 3.30pm on 23rd December, comes just a week after the High Court ordered Westminster to halt plans to impose evening and Sunday parking charges in the West End on 9th January until the Judicial Review was heard in March. The High Court judgment specifically criticised the Council’s consultations and made it clear that the new parkjing charges would damage businesses and their employees. Westminster Council subsequently announced that it would ‘listen’ to West End residents, business and their staff and would not introduce the new charges until September 2012, after the Olympic Games. Now, those promises have turned out to be totally worthless.

The permanent loss of the 1,200 West End parking spaces will force many West End evening visitors and people working in West End theatres, restaurants, clubs, casinos to pay up to £20 a night to park on a parking meter bay or car park, thereby adding to the cost of visiting or working in the West End. A reserch study undertaken by the Centre for Economics and Business Research concluded that the Council’s parking chargs, which would raise the Council an extra £7 million a year, could cost businesses up to £800 million and threaten 5,100 jobs.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said;

“This is an outrageous decision to take just hours before the Council closes for Christmas. The arrogance of Westminster’s Conservative leaders knows no bounds. They will listen to nobody and are even trying to get round a High Court judgment. This is the unwanted ‘Christmas present’ for the West End”

“The removal of so many single yellow line parking spaces in the West End will effectively force many visitors and staff working in the West End evening economy to pay up to £20 a night extra. This is a back door way of introducing the parking charges and there must be a question if the Council is in contempt of court.”

“Removing 1,200 single yellow lines is not about making it safer for pedestrians or drivers, but it is all about reducing free parking spaces and thereby raising extra money for a Council that is in deep financial difficulties”.

You can avoid having to pay high London parking fees and fines and find free parking in London by using the Tube and our text service to find free parking near tube stations outside the congestion zone.

Simply text the word Parking and the name of a tube station OUTSIDE THE CONGESTION ZONE to 80039 and you’ll receive a text back giving you three locations near the tube, or the station closest to it on the same line.