‘You can pay us to pollute the environment, if you can afford to’

• ALONG with others who have a resident parking permit, I have received Camden’s most recent email.

It starts with a bang: “We are writing to let you know that we are proposing to make changes to a number of parking permits to contribute to discouraging inessential car ownership and use in Camden, encourage the use of more sustainable modes for travel, and reduce road-transport based emissions” and ends with a whimper… the intention to charge their residents a bit more for diesel permits.

So Camden’s imagination once again extends to no more than pimping on something they don’t approve of.

You can pay us to pollute the environment, if you can afford to. Also, with the Ultra-low emission zone change due to come in October 2021, hasn’t the particular horse of the most polluting diesel vehicles bolted?

After that date, all aged and / or polluting vehicles driving in or entering the North and South circular roads will have to pay on a daily basis.

Presumably that anyone who is changing their vehicle to avoid the charge, will be looking for their next vehicle around April, when Camden’s new proposed charge would begin.

Anyone still driving a polluting diesel after this date has money to burn and won’t be deterred by an extra charge. The rest of us, meanwhile, can feel the unfairness of the council topping up its coffers as those vehicles continue to pollute our streets.

DAVID
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