3:13pm Monday 8th February 2010
By Carl Brown
A PLAN for a permit parking zone in a quiet area of Walthamstow has been slammed by residents.
The council is currently consulting on making a large residential area surrounding Lloyd Park a controlled parking zone (CPZ).
This would mean motorists having to pay up to £90 a year to park in their street and up to £170 for a second car.
CPZs are designed to prevent commuters from parking in streets, but residents have told the Guardian that finding spaces in the area is not a problem.
Jane Nevill, 51, of Douglas Avenue, estimates the zone could cost her and her husband Danny up to £300, including visitor permits.
She said: “We don't need a parking zone, there are no shops or train stations around here and there is always somewhere around here to park.
“I think this is just about making money.”
Mrs Nevill will tonight be among a group of residents knocking on doors to collect petitions against the scheme.
Residents have attended two council consultation events about the proposed scheme.
David Bull, of Ardleigh Terrace, said: “Every person there was of the opinion that this was just another money-making exercise by this council with a total disregard to whether or not we the residents want it.
“This has not come about because there is nowhere for people to park.
“Indeed if that was the case there are many areas that could be made available for parking on the Lloyd Park estate - namely the grassed areas where the houses sit back from the road.”
The council's consultation leaflet says that since permit zones were introduced last year in the streets around Waltham Forest theatre and the William Morris Gallery, there has been less daytime parking in those areas.
But there is now added congestion in the area to the north of the existing zones, meaning residents find it difficult to park outside or near to their homes, said the document.
Residents have until February 17 to have their say on the proposals, after which councillors will make a decision.
In 2007 the council scrapped the requirement for a majority 'yes' vote from residents before a CPZ can be introduced.
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