Q&A: Richmond's gas guzzlers

What's Richmond council proposing?
Richmond upon Thames council in south west London is proposing a scheme to charge three times the current rate for residents' parking permits for drivers of gas guzzling cars.

How will the system work?
The plan would be implemented on a sliding scale - banded A to G - of charges for residents' parking permits.

If you own an electric car, you'd find yourself in band A, and would pay nothing for a resident's permit. But, the more gas greedy your car is, the more you would pay.

Band G would be made up of cars such as 4x4s, the Porsche 911 Carrera, the Jaguar X-type, Range Rover 4.4 litre and the Renault Espace people carrier. For the pleasure of driving these beasts, you'd be charged up to three times your current rate for an annual parking permit.

The plans also include proposals to charge households an extra 50 per cent for permits on second cars - on top of the adjusted payments for emissions.

What are the potential charges?
The cost of parking highly polluting vehicles would rise from the current rate of £100 to £300 a year.

If you own two high-emission cars, you could find yourself coughing up £750 a year for residents' parking - £300 for the first vehicle and £450 for the second. Currently Richmond drivers pay just £200 for two cars - no matter how much gas they gulp.

What are the arguments for and against?
According to Serge Lourie, leader of Richmond upon Thames' Liberal Democrat-controlled Council, Richmond is one of the highest CO2-emitting boroughs in London. Penalising those driving gas guzzlers could help discourage people from buying such vehicles - and reduce CO2 emissions and help the environment in the process.

Then again, revenue from the scheme has been estimated at up to £1m and some critics have suggested the plan is just a money-spinner for the council.

Richmond council insists its objective is reducing CO2 emissions and says revenue will be slashed when, as the council expects, more people switch to lower emission vehicles.

But, with a reputation for attracting the rich and famous and a long list of well-heeled locals including the Attenboroughs, Richard E Grant, and various members of rock aristocracy, Richmond may find that higher-than-average permit charges may not provide all inhabitants with a pressing incentive to give up their big cars.

And, because band G includes cars which produce 225g of CO2 per mile - the output of some more ordinary family cars - some critics want to see a scheme based around incentives rather than penalties, with discounts at the lower end of the scale.

Are there any other similar schemes?
If implemented - the decision will be made on 6 November 2006 - this will be the first scheme of its kind in the country. If given the go ahead, the council hopes the scheme will come into force in the New Year.

If it goes through, it's possible the scheme could catch on; perhaps signalling it's time to leave the guzzlers in the showroom.

Related links
Environment reports
Climate change reports

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