2,500 more roads where residents must pay to park

HUNDREDS of thousands more households are being forced to pay to park on their own street as town halls squeeze drivers for more cash.

A report reveals that residential parking permit zones are spreading rapidly, with an extra 2,500 streets added over the past three years.

The permits, which cost between £25 a year and hundreds for more polluting cars, generated £200,000 for councils every day last year and £242million over three years.

A recent Daily Mail probe revealed struggling councils have also been ratcheting up the price of these permits. This is backed up in a report published by insurers Churchill today, which estimates that three million people have seen the cost of their permit rise in the past 12 months.

Across the UK, the number of streets where residents are charged to park has jumped 6 per cent, or 2,500. But despite this, income from the permits fell from £87.6million in 2017 to £77.2million last year.

The number of applications for new ones also fell to 1.2million from 1.6million. Churchill said this may be due to a fall in car sales, and people being put off owning cars due to rising costs.

Jack Cousens, from the AA, said: ‘Where local councils already have a steady source of income, it is more than tempting to sweat that asset for all it’s worth.’ But Martin Tett, of the Local Government Association, insisted: ‘Parking schemes are only introduced following requests by people who wish to park near their homes.’