Endless political divisions about parking have been caused by Labour Hounslow council's determination to follow its anti-car ideology at the expense of the success of the borough's high streets and shopping parades. Parking costs are increasing in Hounslow council's 2025-2026 budget despite strong evidence that plentiful short-term and long-term parking, and free stop-to-shop parking, brings people to shopping streets and encourages them to spend in their local economies.
Surveys
Petitions
- Oxfordshire: Protect Woodford Way Car Park: Cllr Liam Walker August 2025
- Oxfordshire: Save Summertown Parking: Oxford Business Action Group April 2025
Hounslow council parking fees 2025-2026
Media coverage 2025
- New Forest: New Forest councillor 'concerned' over new parking charges: Ross Marshall Southern Daily Echo 21st October 2025
- Oxfordshire town's businesses hit out at 'anti-car' plans: Matthew JC Evans This is Oxfordshire 17th August 2025
- The staggering increase in Britain’s parking fines: Steve Bird and Ollie Corfe The Telegraph 19th July 2025
- ‘They’re not on our side’: Residents fume over ‘triple threat’ war on motorists: Albert Tait The Telegraph 29th June 2025
- London Ealing: Ealing Tories Present Petition Against Stop and Shop Proposals: Council want bays to be booked through a mobile phone app: chiswickw4.com 17th June 2025
- Gloucestershire and Forest of Dean: This council rolled out free parking in Gloucestershire towns – and it has been a success: Carmelo Garcia, Gloucestershire Live 19th May 2025
- Drivers to face harsher punishments than shoplifters: Dominic Penna The Guardian 17th May 2025
- York Bishopthorpe Road: Traders blame 500% parking rise for drop in takings: Seb Cheer, BBC News, 9th May 2025
- Surrey Guildford: Parking meters shut down to encourage app payments: Sam Dixon-French, BBC News, 10th April 2025
- Southampton Bitterne: Thousand sign Bitterne petition against parking charges: Cristiano Magaglio, Daily Echo, 10th April 2025
- Harpenden and St Albans: Council threatens legal action on parking fees: Tony Fisher BBC News 4th April 2025
- Oxford: Oxford traders fear loss of parking outside their shops: Esme Kenney, Oxford Mail, 1st April 2025
- Southampton: Free parking in Southampton to be scrapped from tomorrow: Maya George, Daily Echo, 31st March 2025
- Surrey: Free parking introduced to 10 Surrey towns and villages in bid to boost high streets: Carrington Walke,r Get Surrey, 26th March 2025
- Bristol: Evening parking to cost more in Bristol city centre but hike less than first planned: Alex Seabrook, Bristol Post, 24th March 2024
- Oxford: Public notices: Car park charge increase across Oxford: Jacob Manuschka, Oxford Mail, 23rd March 2025
- Yorkshire East Riding: Plans to scrap free parking back on the table: BBC News, 21st March 2025
- Drivers taken to court over car park keying errors: Caroline Lowbridge, BBC East Midlands, 2nd March 2025
- Southampton Bitterne: Bitterne businesses fear car park sale could be 'final blow': Cristiano Magaglio, Daily Echo, 3rd March
- Somerset: Evening car park charges dropped as hundreds object: Ruth Bradley, BBC Somerset, 3rd March 2025
- Parking is so expensive it puts two-thirds of drivers off visiting their local high street: Two new studies have found parking costs are detrimental to the high street: Freda Lewis-Stempel, This is Money, 28th February 2025
- Sadiq Khan launches another attack on London drivers: War on motorists worsens as Labour mayor approves ‘unjustifiable’ price increases: Joe Wright, The Telegraph, 21st February 2025
Media coverage 2024
- Sales surge at parking app as councils abandon cash: JustPark’s profits double as local authorities accused of using drivers as a ‘cash cow’: Matthew Field, The Telegraph, 8th December 2024
- Santa's Head Reindeer Gets Fined in Parking App Mix-up: Can Hounslow Parking Services learn a lesson from Scrooge?: www.chiswickw4.com, 8th December 2024
