Cathy Phillpotts speaking at Monday’s meeting

MOTORCYCLISTS could face steep rises in the cost of driving, as some face forking out nearly £500 a year to park their bike at home and work.

Riders can currently park for free in dedicated motorcycle bays, and residents can buy an annual permit for £65.

But bills could rocket under council proposals that would see a £139.28 charge to park at home, £359.15 for a business permit plus £6 a day for visitors.

During a deputation to Camden’s full council meeting on Monday night, the Motorcycle Action Group’s Cathy Phillpotts said a petition against the price changes and supported by GMB union had nearly 1,500 signatories – and represented a cross-section of the borough’s workers, from doctors and nurses to actors and handymen.

Roseanne Luther

The past decade has seen an increased use of motorbikes by so-called “gig-economy” workers for firms like Deliveroo and Just Eat delivering takeaway food.

“They have told us they have no other viable means of transport due to the length or nature or time of their journeys,” she said. “People are often using motorcycles when public transport is not there. This will stop key workers such as nurses and doctors from working in Camden, and they’re the heroes of this pandemic.”

Ms Phillpotts warned that low-paid workers would also be hard hit.

One signatory, Roseanne Luther, a senior staff nurse at University College Hospital in Euston Road, said: “Not being able to use my motorbike will affect my shift work, especially due to reduced services on weekends. During the pandemic, using a motorcycle has allowed me to avoid unnecessary contact with members of the public as I am at high risk of being a carrier and spreading the virus unknowingly.”

Motorbike rider Brian Lake, 74, uses his Czech Kawa motorbike to travel between his home in Kentish Town and Jarndyce bookshop which he runs in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury

“It’s clearly draconian. It will be pushed through, because this council just pushes things through,” Mr Lake said. “I hope they don’t, because it is completely disproportionate between the amount of people it will affect and the cost, it’s just not fair. I’ve been riding motorbikes since I was 17. I’m not going to be put off, so I suppose I will have to afford it.

“But there are a lot of people who rely on small motorbikes to travel around and get to work. It’s a cheap way to get around town, and they’ll be hardest hit.”

Neighbouring Westminster City Council, often cited by opposition Conservative councillors, is the only other borough in London to charge for motorbike bays, but at a smaller rate than Camden is proposing. Councillor Oliver Cooper, leader of the Camden Tories, said environmentally it risked making the “perfect the enemy of the good”, as people may switch to cars.

Ms Phillpotts added: “We’ve spoken to people who’ve said ‘I can carry equipment on my motorbike but I can’t on public transport. I would have to shift to a van or car’.”

Camden’s environment chief, Labour councillor Adam Harrison, said no decision had been made on the changes, and a final proposal would come back to the council’s cabinet in July. The proposals are still being looked at and worked at, and considering what mitigations there might be going forward,” he said. “We were looking at a daily permit of £6 a day, the equivalent permit for a car would be £36, so I don’t think there would be a direct shift [to cars].”