Cardiff may become UK’s first city to impose SUV parking premium | UK News

Motorists who drive sports utility vehicles (SUVs) or other large vehicles could be charged more to park in Cardiff, if changes to parking permits are approved on Thursday.

Students have said they are worried they may feel unsafe in the dark if they cannot park near their homes following the proposed changes.

The city would be split into three new zones with resident permits in the city centre scrapped and students entitled to fewer permits.

The 10-year plan affects residents, commuters and visitors but new permits for carers and NHS workers would be created. A decision will be made by Cardiff council on Thursday but the cost of permits would be decided at a later date.

The plan is aimed at cutting congestion and encouraging people to walk, cycle or use public transport when travelling in and around the city.

It is hoped the plan would also reduce air pollution – motorists with diesel cars would have to pay a surcharge to encourage them to switch to less polluting vehicles.

Resident permits in the city centre would be scrapped and existing permits would be phased out when the holder moves.

Students Beca Hughes, 19, Anna Griffith, 20 and Erin Parry, 19 said cars are essential for some.

“I think a lot of people are reliant on permits,” Beca said.

But she believes fewer students would bring their cars to university if there were fewer permits.

“You notice a lot more people parking on double-yellow lines – you can struggle getting a parking space”, she added.

“We’ve got a medical student in our house, so she uses her car to go back and forth to the hospital,” said Erin.

Beca said people may feel unsafe in the dark.

“They might not be guaranteed that safety if they can’t park right outside their house,” she said.

“You can’t really park outside your house you have to park two streets down,” said Joe Liston, 19, a sports coach and student.

Joe said he is “not really a fan” or visitor permit allowances being halved for students.

“I think it’s a bit unfair really, I need my car for a job, I work in schools as well as being a student – one day I may be in Caerphilly the next in Newport,” he said.

“How do you expect me to do that without a car.

“You can’t quickly find a train, or I can’t really afford to pay for a taxi – there’s so many other people who do the same as me.”

Cardiff would be split into three zones – known as Parking Management Areas.

• The City and Civic Centre
• The Inner Area
• The Outer Area

Each will have its own rules.

• The City and Civic Centre would have no residential permits.
• The Inner Area would be a mix of permits and permitted bays – although not for businesses.
• The Outer Area would allow all permits, but the times you would need a permit may vary.

“I think they need to have the infrastructure in place,” said Kathryn Williams, Managing Director of KEW Planning, a town planning consultancy in Cardiff.

She said people may not like the “double-whammy” of being charged more for their SUV, when they are already charged more in car tax.

“Is it going to be a deterrent – I think people will need to be extremely careful when they’re coming into the city,” she added.

“I think there’ll be concern from retailers and people with businesses in the city centre.

“I don’t think the communication around the consultation has been that successful, as somebody who works in the industry, we haven’t been notified.”

Kathryn said there needs to be improvements to public transport.

She said: “I think we really need to look at improving things like our bus services, run a little bit longer, bit more frequent, same with the trains.

“I would use the train far more if they ran a bit later.”

She added there were “safety issues” with cycling in parts of the city.

“It’s a good idea,” said Thomas Chu who believes it is right to reduce city centre parking.

He used to pay £120 a month for a parking space for his flat.

“It’s not suitable for too many cars around here,” he said, adding it would cut pollution as well.

“If we didn’t have a car park at our office it would be a real inconvenience,” said Georgina Lawrence who works in Cardiff.

But she said she does not commute around Cardiff by car “because it is quite a pain”.

“I had quite a shock the other day coming in from west Wales way – the congestion was atrocious,” she said.

Under the new parking plan new permit types would be created.

• Essential Service Permits for NHS and council staff.
• Community Permits for places of worship and schools.
• Business Permits – but only in the Outer Area.
• Carer Permits for professional and unpaid carers.

A surcharge would be introduced for motorists with “oversized and highly polluting vehicles”, said the council.

Motorists with cars weighing more than 2,400kg, such as large Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) will have to pay more for a permit.

Motorists with cars weighing more than 3,500kg will not be eligible for a permit.

Cardiff council said the new plan would “improve the quality of life for residents and visitors” and would “prioritises blue badge holders”.

Motorcyclists would now require a permit to park in resident bays.

If the changes are approved on Thursday, there will be another consultation before they are introduced.