Bristol could introduce new parking charges by car size, with the heaviest and most polluting parking charges paying more

If the proposed policy goes ahead, drivers in the South West could soon face parking charges determined by the size of their car.

Bristol City Council is exploring a new ‘parking strategy’ that will be based on ‘weight, emissions and size-based pricing’.

This follows the example of Lambeth and Bath councils, both of which have introduced similar parking schemes that penalize drivers of larger, more polluting cars.

Bristol City Council is in the ‘very early stages’ of planning a shift in regulations that will see cars such as SUVs pay more to park.

A report from the committee said: ‘The project will include outlining our strategy for managing on-street, off-street and resident parking, including pricing strategy, demand management and variations on price categories, for example weight, emissions and by size based prices. ‘

This proposed higher charge for drivers of large cars such as SUVs comes in conjunction with a task force study into the expansion of green curbs.

A city hall committee will consider ‘a gradual repurposing of space (on the side of the road) for sustainable modes of transport and alternative uses, for example planting trees, SUDs (sustainable drainage systems), bicycle hangars and seating areas.’

A report from the committee said: ‘The project will include outlining our strategy for managing on- and off-street parking and for residents, including pricing strategy, demand management and variations on price categories, for example weight, emissions and on size-based pricing’

Bristol councilors had also previously mentioned a possible ban on pavement parking – something Scotland has recently introduced and Wales and England are considering.

Councilors previously mentioned a possible ban on sidewalk parking, which could be introduced in certain parts of the city.

Reportedly ‘heavily influenced’ by Lambeth – whose Kerbside Strategy has ambitious plans to transform 25 per cent of street-side space into places for people, and not just cars – Bristol plans to use a quarter of the space on the street side into places for trees, benches and bicycle sheds.

Following Lambeth, part of the push for size-based parking should also explore ‘a gradual redistribution of space (at the kerb) towards sustainable transport modes and alternative uses, for example tree planting, SUDs (sustainable drainage systems), cycle hangars and seats’. ‘

Lambeth, like other London boroughs, bases the cost of a resident’s parking permit on the CO2 emissions of vehicles.

Bath already has an emissions-based parking system, which requires owners of larger, more polluting cars to pay more.

On October 24, councilors on the transport policy committee will vote on establishing a task and completion group to explore options. The task force will then hold a private one-hour online meeting every month, with the project expected to take a year to develop.

The public will then be consulted on any proposed changes to parking rules before the transport committee makes a final decision.

Bath’s car park is charged with emissions

As reported by This is Money in September 2023, Bath now has ULEZ-style rules that require owners of diesel cars and some high-emission petrol models to pay more to use municipal car parks in the city centre.

The Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council introduced it to encourage a ‘shift towards cleaner and more sustainable travel in the city’.

When it was introduced last year, it was estimated that 66 percent of parking users would see extra parking charges – an increase of around 47 percent from £1.70 per hour to £2.50.

New rates for petrol, hybrid and electric models from September 8 were proposed last September and are now in effect

Drivers of diesel cars are charged differently – with the cost of parking at the eighth location now more expensive

Only petrol drivers and models with emissions of less than 131 g/km of CO2 saw no price increase, which is also the case for EVs.

For example, a petrol car with CO2 emissions of 131 to 150 g/km saw costs rise from £1.70 to £1.80 for an hour of parking.

However, a diesel model in the same emissions class will be charged an extra 50p – £2.30.

Individual costs are automatically calculated by payment terminals when motorists enter their license plate number.

Drivers will have to check their vehicle’s emissions on the government’s website to find out whether they have to pay or not.

The cars that are FORBIDDEN in municipal parking lots because they are too long

As cars get bigger, but parking spaces don’t increase accordingly, drivers are left with the problem of cars being too big for their parking spaces.

Five councils currently have length restrictions imposed on vehicles using their parking facilities, with most setting a limit at 5 metres, which is shorter than a Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

These five councils are: Wokingham, South Hams, Broadland and South Norfolk, and West Devon.

A Freedom of Information request from Autocar revealed that more than nine in 10 councils have no plans to increase the size of their parking spaces to accommodate today’s much larger vehicles, which are said to be getting 1cm wider every two years.

And avoiding cars over five meters is surprisingly difficult, with seven of Britain’s ten best-selling car brands producing at least one car over this length last year.

Cars including the Audi A8 and Kia’s electric EV9 SUV exceed this limitation, as do the latest Range Rover and both the Tesla Model S and Model X EVs.