Groundbreaking proposals to slam higher charges on residents with gas-guzzling' cars to park outside their homes have been proposed by Richmond upon Thames Council.

The borough would be the first in the country to charge more for residents' parking permits for those with cars that produce higher CO2 emissions and less for the least polluting cars.

The council will decide on November 6 whether to approve the plan which will see those with the lowest emitting vehicles pay nothing to park outside their homes with a sliding scale for higher emission vehicles.

The highest would be charged up to three times what they currently pay for their annual parking permits They also plan to charge households an extra 50 per cent for permits on second and subsequent cars - on top of the adjusted payments for emissions.

Cllr Serge Lourie, leader of Richmond council said the borough emits the highest level of carbon in London and they had to act.

"The truth is that we must all start acting now at local level," he said. "First we must identify what we can do, and there is a lot that can be done locally that will make a real difference, and local government has an increasingly pivotal role to play, with our communities, in this and other important issues.

"We believe that there would be a 15 per cent cut in emissions if everybody bought a car one band lower than they have at present.

"I am under no illusions that there will be strongly held views on both sides of the argument but we believe it is the right thing to do and it is our hope to be in a position to implement the proposals by the New Year."

The 2001 census revealed that the borough has 16,800 households with two cars, 2,800 with three cars and 700 with four or more.

Under the plans cars which emit less than 110 grams of CO2 per kilometre they drive, such as the Honda Insight petrol electric hybrid, would pay nothing.

Cars such as the Smart car with a 0.7 litre petrol tank or the Peugeot 107 hatchback would get a 50 per cent discount while a BMW X5, Jaguar X type or Porsche 911 driver is set to pay twice as much as before.

For example, a family who live in Richmond town centre currently pay £100 per car per year to park outside their home but under the new proposals if that family has a car with low emissions, such as the Honda hybrid, they would park for free.

If the same family have a Smart car they would pay £50 a year and if they drive a car with reasonably low emissions like a Ford Ka they would be entitled to a 10 per cent reduction and pay £90 for their permit.

Anyone who drives a Toyota Rav4 will have to pay £150 to park in Richmond while drivers of a high-emitting Range Rover will be forced to pay £300.

If families have two high-emitting cars and currently pay £200 for two yearly permits they would see this soar to £750.

And at the extreme, someone living in Richmond town centre with four high-emitting cars who currently pay £400 would be forced to pay £1,650 for the privilege of parking outside their home.

James Page, from the Richmond Green Party, said: "This is most welcome news and I proposed this three years ago. It will definitely influence people's decision, It is bound to reduce carbon emissions but we really need to be reducing driving."

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has congratulated Richmond on this decision while Twickenham resident Geoff Pope, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, urged others to follow Richmond's lead.

But Richmond's Conservatives have labelled it a stealth tax'.

Cllr Nick True, leader of Richmond Conservatives, said: "This is a huge stealth tax increase on local families. Conservatives are in favour of green taxes, but any increase in green tax should be matched with a corresponding reduction on families and businesses elsewhere. This will hit average families."

Conservative transport spokesperson Cllr Martin Seymour said the proposed 3,500 household and 1,000 business consultation was a farce, with only two per cent of residents involved.

"The list of car types is totally dishonest," he added. "Not one of the lowest band cars is generally available in this country - and why the favouritism for diesel cars?"

For details or to register comments go to richmond.gov.uk/CO2_consultation or write to the council for a leaflet.

The plans will be considered by the council's environment scrutiny committee on November 1, and will go before the executive on November 6.

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