Owners of diesel cars face higher charges for annual parking permits in major cities amid growing concern over their effect on air quality.
The most expensive parking permits will cost ?176 and will apply to cars such as a three-litre diesel Range Rover
Councils have begun to raise the cost for the vehicles, which were previously considered more environmentally friendly because of lower carbon emissions.
A motorist with a typical family diesel faces paying more than ?150 a year to park outside his or her home.
There is growing concern in Whitehall over the green credentials of diesel vehicles, which are increasingly popular.
According to a paper prepared for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs this month, they emit too many small polluting particles which damage local air quality, a particular problem in residential areas with heavy traffic.
The report said the Government should encourage ?small, modern petrol vehicles, petrol hybrids and electric vehicles in urban areas in place of diesel vehicles?.
Diesels already account for one in four cars on the road, and four in 10 new cars.
They are more fuel efficient and normally cost less to tax because of lower CO2 emissions.
But Tory-controlled Kensington and Chelsea council will impose a ?15 surcharge on parking permits for them from next month and councils in other urban areas are likely to follow.
The London borough?s most expensive parking permit will cost ?176 and will apply to cars such as a three-litre diesel Range Rover.
Owners of family cars, such as two-litre diesel Ford Mondeos, will have to find ?153 a year.
Although the borough is thought to be the first to adopt a differential tax for diesel cars, other councils are understood to be monitoring the experiment closely.
The move is likely to be welcomed by environmentalists, but it has angered motoring groups. Diesel already costs up to 7p a litre more than unleaded petrol.
Edmund King, the AA?s president, said: ?Punishing someone for owning a diesel car that produces up to 20 per cent less CO2 than the petrol version is ludicrous. Councils are plundering residents? parking for money to balance their budgets.?
Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, added: ?Provided diesel cars are properly maintained there is no problem.?
The move has parallels with higher charges for the most gas-guzzling vehicles. Richmond upon Thames became the first council to charge more for parking permits where cars have higher carbon emissions.
Similar charges are becoming commonplace.
According to the Defra paper, diesel cars still emit as much nitrogen oxide and dioxide as they did 15 years ago.
They have been linked to childhood asthma and other respiratory problems.
A spokesman for Environmental Protection UK, a campaign group, said: ?Local authorities in the most polluted urban locations must start encouraging residents to choose petrol over diesel.
This could be achieved through simple measures such as differentiating between diesel and petrol vehicles for residents car parking charges.?
A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea council said: ?Historically, diesels, while better on CO2 emissions, have tended to be rather worse than petrol engines of similar size in relation to local air pollutants such as particulates and nitrogen dioxide.
In Kensington and Chelsea there is a problem with local air quality.?
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Parking permit surcharge to force diesel cars off the roads - Telegraph
The most expensive parking permits will cost ?176 and will apply to cars such as a three-litre diesel Range Rover Councils have begun to raise the cost for the vehicles, which were previously considered more environmentally friendly because of lower carbon emissions.
A motorist with a typical family diesel faces paying more than ?150 a year to park outside his or her home.
There is growing concern in Whitehall over the green credentials of diesel vehicles, which are increasingly popular.
According to a paper prepared for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs this month, they emit too many small polluting particles which damage local air quality, a particular problem in residential areas with heavy traffic.
The report said the Government should encourage ?small, modern petrol vehicles, petrol hybrids and electric vehicles in urban areas in place of diesel vehicles?.
Diesels already account for one in four cars on the road, and four in 10 new cars.
They are more fuel efficient and normally cost less to tax because of lower CO2 emissions.
But Tory-controlled Kensington and Chelsea council will impose a ?15 surcharge on parking permits for them from next month and councils in other urban areas are likely to follow.
The London borough?s most expensive parking permit will cost ?176 and will apply to cars such as a three-litre diesel Range Rover.
Owners of family cars, such as two-litre diesel Ford Mondeos, will have to find ?153 a year.
Although the borough is thought to be the first to adopt a differential tax for diesel cars, other councils are understood to be monitoring the experiment closely.
The move is likely to be welcomed by environmentalists, but it has angered motoring groups. Diesel already costs up to 7p a litre more than unleaded petrol.
Edmund King, the AA?s president, said: ?Punishing someone for owning a diesel car that produces up to 20 per cent less CO2 than the petrol version is ludicrous. Councils are plundering residents? parking for money to balance their budgets.?
Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, added: ?Provided diesel cars are properly maintained there is no problem.?
The move has parallels with higher charges for the most gas-guzzling vehicles. Richmond upon Thames became the first council to charge more for parking permits where cars have higher carbon emissions.
Similar charges are becoming commonplace.
According to the Defra paper, diesel cars still emit as much nitrogen oxide and dioxide as they did 15 years ago.
They have been linked to childhood asthma and other respiratory problems.
A spokesman for Environmental Protection UK, a campaign group, said: ?Local authorities in the most polluted urban locations must start encouraging residents to choose petrol over diesel.
This could be achieved through simple measures such as differentiating between diesel and petrol vehicles for residents car parking charges.?
A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea council said: ?Historically, diesels, while better on CO2 emissions, have tended to be rather worse than petrol engines of similar size in relation to local air pollutants such as particulates and nitrogen dioxide.
In Kensington and Chelsea there is a problem with local air quality.?
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Parking permit surcharge to force diesel cars off the roads - Telegraph
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