Scrap outer London parking limits as investigation shows lack of spaces

Three in ten new homes approved in Outer London since 2011 don’t have a parking space, according to new figures.¹

An investigation by GLA Conservative Steve O’Connell reveals that new suburban developments in the Capital have just 0.7 off-street parking spaces per home on average – Sutton has as little as 0.37 while Bromley has the most with 1.26 per home.¹

Scrapping parking limits from the Mayor’s planning document for London², and giving boroughs the power to decide their own levels, would help outer London areas meet local parking demands where needed.

GLA Conservative London Assembly Member Steve O’Connell said:

“We must realise that people living in outer London rely on their cars, especially for local journeys, and we must make sure that new homes have sufficient off-street parking spaces. Areas such as Ealing, Barking and indeed my constituency of Croydon and Sutton have high levels of car ownership and limited public transport provision, compared with central areas of London. It is ludicrous that some new developments have an average of just 0.37 spaces per home.

“It’s a fact that reducing parking does not necessarily cut car use, in fact it will often result in parking spilling over into neighbouring streets, potentially causing even greater congestion. I will be urging the Mayor to amend his planning document to remove all maximum parking limits in outer London. I also want to see boroughs free to set their own minimum or maximum parking levels according to local conditions.”

The new report, "Parking Up: Increasing car spaces in new developments” can be accessed at: glaconservatives.co.uk/pu

Click here to download the report

Or to save it right click 'save as' on this link glaconservatives.co.uk/pu

 

London Borough-by-Borough breakdown of parking spaces per housing unit, for hi-res click here
 

References
¹ Data refers to new homes on major development sites which have received planning permission since September 2011. Some of these may have already been built. Data compiled from 125 Greater London Authority strategic planning application reports, available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/strategic-planning-applications/mayors-planning-decisions
² The ‘London Plan’ is the Mayor’s planning document for London and can be accessed at: http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/London%20Plan%20March%202015%20%28FALP%29.pdf