PARKING PERMITS IN CHISWICK

Hounslow Announces Clampdown whilst Ealing is Criticised for Renewal Procedures. Also Tories accuse Council of misusing proceeds of parking schemes.

To counter an increase in fraudulent parking permit applications during the past few months, Hounslow Council is tightening up procedures for parking permit applications. Residents living in a controlled parking zone area will now have to prove where they live and also prove the ownership of their car when applying for a new permit or a renewal of an existing permit.

The new procedures aim to benefit residents by stopping illegal parking and ensuring that residents can use their preferential parking facilities. The person applying for a resident's permit must be the registered keeper of the vehicle or the council tax or rent payer. If not then recent official correspondence showing name and address of the applicant such as a utility bill, credit card statement or bank statement will be required.

A letter from the vehicle's registered keeper stating that the applicant is allowed to drive the vehicle will also be required. The council tax and vehicle registration will be mandatory from the 1st November 2001. Hounslow will continue to monitor that applications are from bona-fide residents and where this is not the case, permits will be withdrawn or not renewed.

At the same time Ealing Council have attracted criticism from Bedford Park residents for the cumbersome renewal procedures for the CPZ. There is annoyance that residents are being asked to send Council Tax bills to the Council as proof of residence. The forms also ask that proof of ownership of a car must be sent again even if the permit is being renewed for the same car.

The Conservative opposition group has queried Ealing Council's use of the funds that are raised from parking permits. The latest figures show that the schemes borough wide make a profit of £1.3 million with close to £1 million of that paying for bus passes for the disabled and the elderly. The Conservatives want this money to be spent on road improvements.

Bedford Parking