A PROPOSAL to introduce permit parking to a large area stretching from the Bakers Arms in Leyton to Walthamstow Village has been greeted with outrage.

The council is currently consulting on a scheme which would make households and shopkeepers pay to park their cars in a zone between Dunton Road in Leyton to Church Lane in Walthamstow.

The authority says the proposed controlled parking zone (CPZ) is designed to alleviate congestion in the area but a final decision will be based on the outcome of the consultation.

Politicians have reported a mixed response to the idea so far, but some are furious.

Muneer Rashid, 35, who lives in Fraser Road near the Bakers Arms, is one of those campaigning against the move and has organised a petition which has been signed by more than 50 residents.

“This is going to have a big negative impact on lots of people,” he said.

“We're in the middle of one of the deepest recessions the country has ever seen and yet the council is expecting us to pay just to park outside our homes.

“This is also going to have a big effect on local businesses who are worried about losing lots of trade as a result.

“Parking was never a big issue here until the council introduce a CPZ in the Grove Road area, which displaced a lot of traffic. If they introduce another CPZ it will then push the problem elsewhere and will not actually solve anything.”

Over in Walthamstow Village, 64-year-old Don Mapp of Maynard Road echoed the concerns.

He said: "This is totally unnecessary. In the twenty or so years I've lived here there have been very few times that I've been forced to park away from my house.

"The Labour administration at the council is just anti-car. They have reduced the number of parking places in the borough and they approved that planning application to build flats by Walthamstow Station which will make parking even worse."

The council's cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Clyde Loakes, said: "parking surveys have shown that the Shernhall Street and Bakers Arms areas are heavily parked and so we are investigating CPZs which help improve traffic flow and parking for people who live there."

He added: "Ultimately it is up to residents. If the majority of responses reject these proposals, we will not implement the CPZ."

The council's permit charges are based on the amount of cars owned and vary depending on vehicle emission rating, but they start from £30 a year for one residential vehicle or £390 for a business's first two vehicles.

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