Reasons for emission based parking permits
Toxic Pollution
Newham residents are exposed to high levels of toxic pollution from vehicles, contributing to the highest death rate in England.
According to Public Health England, there are 96 people dying each year due to the poor quality of the air that they breathe. The health impact of our polluted air on residents, including children, is the same as smoking 159 cigarettes a year. Newham has the highest levels for hospital admissions due to asthma-related conditions for under 9 year olds in London.
Six in ten car trips are made for shopping, leisure and personal business purposes and a third of car trips are shorter than 2km. While many residents may think their short journeys make no impact on our air quality, vehicles emit more pollution during the initial part of a journey.
Addressing Toxic pollution
The Council has declared a climate emergency and published an action plan to address the challenges of poor air quality in the borough. Part of these measures included ways to reduce the amount of pollution created by vehicles.
Parking policies and procedures are one important tools that can be used to influence the number, type and the use of vehicles and help deliver behavioural change and air quality improvements.
Doing nothing to reduce emissions from our resident’s vehicles is no longer an option.
The emission based parking permit charges are aimed at addressing poor air quality in Newham and lowering vehicle emissions by encouraging residents to:
- switch towards less polluting vehicles to (reduce nitrogen oxides and harmful particulates)
- take local trips using by sustainable modes of transport, like walking and cycling (as it has been proven that vehicles emit more pollution during the first few miles of a journey)
- leave the car at home.
There is evidence of a positive impact from the emissions schemes. In Westminster, Islington and Camden, diesel usage dropped by between 16-20% after emissions based parking was launched.
How Newham's emission based charge is different from London's ULEZ Charge
The ULEZ is the Ultra Low Emission Zone that Transport for London (TfL) introduced in October 2021. There is a daily charge to drive within the zone, if you do not meet certain low vehicle emission standards.
Four out of five cars already meet the ULEZ emissions standards, but TfL is encouraging owners of older polluting cars, motorcycles, lighter vans and minibuses to take action.
The ULEZ does not target all harmful vehicle emissions and is based on NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) only. While NOx has a major health impact, ULEZ takes no real account of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) or particulate matter emissions. This means the ULEZ on its own will not deliver the step change in air quality that Newham requires if we are to address our public health challenges.
The current ULEZ zone has impacted older HGVs (Heavy Goods Vehicles) and coaches, but it has had limited impact on the make-up of private vehicles, with the vast majority of private vehicles unaffected by the charge.
Rolling out Electric Vehicles Charging
New electric vehicle charging points are being made available across the Newham making it easier for those who choose to make the switch to electric vehicles to have greater access to public charging points.
The council has expanded the availability of electric vehicle charging points across the borough by installing on-street charging points and lamp column charging units.
Find more information on electric vehicle charging points.
