Campaigners are calling for owners of large SUVs to “pay more” to park their vehicles in a major new rules proposal. The move could see those with the keys to large vehicles such as Range Rovers or Nissan Qashqai’s slapped with higher bills.
Oliver Lord, head of Clean Cities, said extra fees were “only fair” due to the extra space SUVs account for. It comes after researchers at Clean Cities found that millions of cars are too big for parking bays. Analysis from the group found that a staggering 4.6million cars have been sold in the UK that are bigger than a typical urban car parking space since 2021.
Experts are worried that models are generally getting bigger, with a record 1.2 million cars sold wider than 1.8 metres.
The average UK parking space is 2.4 metres wide by 4.8 metres long, leaving little room for cars to manoeuvre inside bays.
Oliver said: “Cars are getting bigger every year – while our streets are not. We need carmakers to prioritise normal-sized cars that can be parked more easily and are less dangerous to people walking around.
“It’s only fair if you want to buy a massive SUV [sports utility vehicle] that you should expect to pay more for the space it takes up.”
Last year, Paris introduced triple parking fees for SUVs after getting approval in a referendum.
Parking a large vehicle in the French capital now costs drivers €18 instead of the previous €6 charge.
Meanwhile, heavier fees also applies to the outskirts of the city with road users forced to pay €12 to stop their model instead of €4.
A poll conducted by Clean Cities found 54% of UK drivers polled wanted to spend any extra revenue from SUV owners on fixing Britain’s potholes.
Meanwhile, 40% wanted the money to be focussed on producing safer roads with 36% pushing for funds to be diverted to improve public transport.
Only 19% said there should be no additional charges for SUV openers stopping in major cities.
Green Party peer Jenny Jones pushed for UK officials to adopt the Paris approach sooner rather than later.
She said: “I like what Paris has done to discourage their use, by charging the largest cars as much as three times more to park.
“In the UK, Bath and Islington councils have introduced similar measures. The government should encourage other councils to replicate these efforts.”