Free resident parking permits for electric and hybrid cars in Richmond borough are being scrapped.

At the same time free parking for these vehicles will also go as the Council attempts to balance its books.

From this year, electric car users will now have to pay 50% of the normal fee for a resident's parking permit and 50% of the cost of using council parking places.

The changes mean that the first resident's parking permit for a household is going up from £124 to £130.20 – and electric vehicle owners will now pay £65.10.

Documents prepared by the Council suggested that free permits and parking had been agreed in the past because they provided an incentive for residents to switch away from petrol and diesel cars.

However, it suggested that it is no longer justified to give free parking perks to the owners of electric and hybrid cars, which are relatively expensive.

The money being raised from the owners of these 'greener' cars is being used to limit increases in permit and parking fees imposed on drivers of petrol and diesel cars.

Despite this, the cost of a resident parking permit is to rise by 5% this year, while the cost of any extra permits will rise by 10%. At the same time, parking charges are set to rise by 10%.

The take-up of electric and hybrid cars has risen sharply in Richmond in recent years. These are in a grouping described as Band A, which relates to vehicles with CO2 emissions of below 100g/km.

The Council said that following a review of the situation it is making a change 'to ensure that this subsidy remains appropriate, taking into consideration the growing take up of low emission vehicles, the beneficiaries of this subsidy, as well as the negative impacts that even low emission vehicles have upon the Borough'.

It added: 'The number of cars registered in the Borough that qualify for this discount is rapidly increasing in line with the increasing purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles and general improvements in petrol and diesel compliance with stricter emission standards.

'The number of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles registered in the Borough increased by 66% from June 2021 to June 2022, with the number of residential permits issued for vehicles with emissions of CO2

In a bid to justify introducing charges, it said: "Whilst the subsidy provides an incentive to encourage the uptake of low emission vehicles to support climate change air quality measures; it is weighted in its application toward road users with newer vehicles.

"The free resident permit and free parking provides a very significant subsidy to certain car users, many with more costly new electric or hybrid vehicles at the expense of other road users who may be less financially secure in a time of the cost of living crisis."

Despite the new charges for green cars, the Council said it is 'committed to supporting the rollout of electric and ultra-low emission vehicles and is continuing to deliver an ambitious scheme for new electric vehicle car charging points.

It said: "The Council will continue to provide incentives for the use of lower emission vehicles cars, but the subsidy is proposed to be amended to be set at 50% for resident permits and 50% for on street parking.

"Under this new fee basis drivers of more sustainable vehicles will only pay half of the charge for other more polluting vehicles."

The new policy was agreed by Councillors on Richmond's Transport & Air Quality Committee.

Chairman, Alexander Ehmann, said the Council's policy is driven by the impact of the cost of living crisis and the fact that drivers of some older vehicles will be hit with daily ULEZ charges later this year under a policy from the London mayor.