Barking and Dagenham Council's expanding Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) strategy is facing scrutiny over its socioeconomic impact, particularly concerning the affordability and accessibility of parking charges for low-income residents. During a recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, councillors raised concerns about how the council plans to ensure parking affordability and availability, especially in densely populated areas.
Councillor Ben Suter highlighted the challenges for residents who may struggle to afford permits, particularly if they rely on older, higher-emission vehicles. In response, council officers confirmed that the parking service is self-financing and permit charges are benchmarked against neighbouring boroughs. They also noted that permit pricing is based on vehicle emissions, with lower-emission vehicles benefiting from reduced costs. However, Councillor Suter argued that for many, vehicle choice is dictated by necessity rather than affordability, leading to a disproportionate impact on lower-income households.
While the meeting information does not provide projected revenue from the expanded CPZ strategy, it was stated that the parking service is self-financing. All on-street income, including penalty charge notices, is ring-fenced and can only be spent on providing or improving the parking service, roads, highways, or environmental initiatives. For the financial year 25/26, expenditure for running the service was just over £8 million, while income, including off-street income, totalled £20 million, resulting in a surplus of approximately £12 million. This surplus has been allocated to highways improvements, the highways division, mobility projects, and other areas as outlined in Section 55.
Officers acknowledged that the council's parking service is self-financing and permit charges are benchmarked against neighbouring boroughs. They also detailed the process for reviewing existing CPZs and the potential for introducing sub-zones. The council confirmed that ward councillors' feedback is considered, but final decisions are based on the statutory Traffic Management Order (TMO) process and material considerations.
The committee also discussed the broader benefits of CPZs, including improved road safety, air quality, and reduced congestion. Data presented indicated an increase in permits for low-emission vehicles and a decrease in permits for high-emission vehicles. Daniel Connelly stated, We have seen a positive trend about a 333% uptake increase in our band one, our healthy vehicles to date since 2021-22 and a large reduction about an 80 odd, nearly 90% reduction in our gas guzzling permit end of our banding.
Independent data supporting these claims comes from research undertaken by London Councils, representing all London boroughs, has examined the role that parking policy and CPZs can play in supporting climate adaptation, Net Zero objectives, and health and wellbeing outcomes.
This research demonstrated that there can be upwards, kind of towards the range of nearly 15% reduction in unnecessary car kilometres journeys being made, and nearly up to 20% in the same for vans.
However, councillors like Andrew Achilleos questioned the methodology for measuring air quality improvements, suggesting that permit data alone might not be definitive.
Further details on the council's performance metrics and initiatives can be found in the Public reports pack for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on Wednesday 09 September 2026. Public reports pack Wednesday 09-Sep-2026 19.00 Overview and Scrutiny Committee