Green parking plan to be extended

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Parking charges linked to CO2

A London council has announced plans to extend a scheme that charges the most polluting vehicles more to park.

Richmond Council's system of variable charging for residents' spaces will now apply to all car parks and parking spaces in the borough.

Charges will rise by 25% for vehicles producing more than 180g of CO2 per km, and reduced for the cleanest cars.

Vehicles will be automatically charged the higher rate unless they register with the scheme before parking.

BBC News transport correspondent Tom Symonds says the move is the most radical attempt so far to link parking charges to carbon emissions.

The council approved plans to charge increased residents' parking prices for the most polluting vehicles in January last year.

At the time the AA branded the decision as "unfair" on large families who were more likely to have bigger vehicles.

A number of other London councils, including Camden and Haringey, followed Richmond's example and introduced residents' parking schemes that take account of a vehicle's CO2 emissions.