Anger as £35 fee for 'free' parking permits introduced

Residents across the city will now have to cough up £35 per year when renewing their permits, which were previously free. Visitors’ permits will cost £40 per year, and businesses will be charged £80 per business vehicle.

There is scant information about the changes on the council’s website.

Existing permit holders were informed of the new charges on October 1, just two days before they came into force, after a consultation period.

Gareth Gregory is a TV and satellite engineer based in Wibsey who says “the anger is unbelievable” among local residents over the issue.

Gareth Gregory, pictured in North Road, Wibsey, is among those criticising the new charges (Image: Gareth Gregory) He says a group of residents and businesses will be lobbying local councillors at their surgery on Saturday, with some residents on North Road refusing to pay for the permits.

Mr Gregory says his business is likely to suffer. He will have to rely on his customers, who are often elderly, to amend their visitor’s pass (if they have one) so he can park to do a small job, which may take him less than an hour. 

He says it’s unfair on his customers and makes his jobs almost unviable, especially if he is fined £70, which is the penalty if his vehicle is not covered by a permit. 

“We’ve been in business for over 30 years in Bradford. Earning a living in this city is hard enough without Bradford Council’s latest attack on small businesses.

“If we’re called out to a job where permits are required, we almost certainly aren’t going to be able to do them the same day. If the resident has a visitor permit, they can go online and should be able to add us to it temporarily. If they don’t, or can’t, we have to pay. And how this is done is as clear as mud. 

A permit holders sign in Woodhall Avenue in the Gain Lane area (Image: T&A) “We may be entitled to a contractors’ permit, which appears to be £10 a week. But it has to be applied for in advance - although the council don’t specify how far in advance.

“We can apply for a dispensation but this also has to be done in advance - £15 if it’s three days in advance or £20 if it’s 24 hours in advance. It’s impossible to do it on the spot.

“Our jobs are often done the same day and often completed within an hour. They’re often not very high value. So paying an additional £15/£20 to park outside a customer’s home, paid at least 24-36 hours in advance, just isn’t viable.”

He also says he has a plumber friend who wouldn’t be able to go out to emergency jobs such as a burst pipe without the fear of a £70 fine – because burst pipes don’t give three days’ notice. 

“This is more complete madness from this shambolic Bradford Council,” he said.

Dennis Grace is unhappy at charges coming nto force for residents in Woodhall Avenue (Image: T&A) Dennis Grace, 63, of Woodhall Avenue, in the Gain Lane area of Bradford, said permits were introduced in the area many years ago, and he was told they would never be chargeable.
 
“We had parking permits introduced on our street because Morrisons offices were built on Gain Lane and their staff were parking on our street, trying to take up spaces,” he said.

“They introduced a parking permit system which they said would stay forever.”

He said they received a letter around seven or eight years ago, stating they would never be charged for the permits. But now residents in the area have had a letter informing them there will be a charge from October 3 onwards when renewing.

Mr Grace said: “There’s going to be a lot of people that are going to struggle.
“They’re not going to be able to make the payments.”

Residents are angry at the charges coming into force for residents in Woodhall Avenue (Image: T&A) Mr Grace’s has two daughters who will be impacted too: one who lives opposite with her husband and another on Woodhall Road, just behind him.

Mr Grace said: “I just think it’s another burden the council is putting on us because the council is struggling for money as of now.”

Now Morrisons HQ has a large car park of its own, there is no problem with parking on the residential roads, according to Mr Grace.

He said: “It’s a waste of time to actually charge for them when we own the house and land into the middle of the road. My deed shows it. We all pay council tax, we all pay road tax.”

His daughter living behind them says she will just park her car in the nearby B&Q overnight instead. 

Mr Grace fears this is onyl the start of a process that will see a succession of price hikes in years to come.
He said: “If they get away with it once, they’ll get away with it again and keep putting the price up.”

He renewed his permit in July so will have plenty of time before needing to pay a charge - but others may need to renew immediately as they might have just moved in, Mr Grace says.

Woodhall Avenue is one of the Bradford streets where the new charges will apply (Image: T&A) Mr Grace sent the council an email saying he’s “sure it’s not legal to charge us for the land that is ours” but said he received an automated response that he believes has been set up specifically for this, as his son received the same reply.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We understand the concerns about paying for a permit to park on residential streets.

"However, it is quite common in other local authorities across the country. Despite this it is something we have kept free for years while many other councils have already introduced charges. The introduction of these charges was agreed as part of the council's March 2024 budget decision due to the rising costs of managing and maintaining permit schemes and the need to make services as cost reflective as possible given the wider financial circumstances councils are facing across the country.

“The charges are in line with other neighbouring local authorities and the income generated helps to preserve existing on-street parking and traffic schemes. A consultation period was in place for the proposed Traffic Order up until 16 September 2024. Objections were reviewed and have been responded to. This was advertised in the T&A and local libraries as well as on Bradford Council’s website. Any existing permits are still valid and the charges will not be due until the renewal date of the permit.

A sign advertising the permit zone in Woodhall Avenue (Image: T&A)

“The changes apply to all residential permit schemes across Bradford District.”

The council also provided the following information:

"The Council has reviewed the costs we charge for permits and are introducing the following pricing structure:

* A £35 per year charge for residents and visitor permits, special and health and social care visitors' permits. There is no cap on the number of vehicles that can be registered at a single property for a resident permit. There is a standard limit of one visitor permit per household, with the potential for an additional visitors' permit depending on local capacity.

* An £80 charge per year for business permits in residential permit schemes.

* New charges of £40 per year for an additional visitors' permit (this is a new permit type to provide additional flexibility for residents, which may only be accessible for certain schemes).

* In the case of the additional visitors' permits, a request can be submitted through your permit account if you already hold an active visitors' permit, which will be reviewed by the relevant highways officer for the area. Many schemes may not have capacity for this to be offered with this being dependent on the amount of spaces available on street in relation to the number of properties."