The motion was moved by Councillor McGrath and seconded by Councillor Fairclough.

The Labour amendment as set out in agenda item 17 was moved by Councillor Byers and seconded by Councillor Whelton.

Councillor Holmes spoke on the item.

The Labour amendment was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 33, votes against: 26, abstentions: 0.

The substantive motion (as amended) was then put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 33, votes against: 26, abstentions: 0.

RESOLVED:

This Council notes:

·         The proposals for increasing parking charges adopted by Cabinet on 14 January

2019 and currently out for consultation, in the report Public health, air quality and sustainable transport – a strategic approach to parking charges 2;

·         That this proposed policy on parking charges cannot be and is not a revenue-raising strategy;

·         The reference made by the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 9 January, that Cabinet was required to receive additional evidence to demonstrate that “increasing parking charges results in a decrease in traffic, and on the link between higher costs for high polluting cars and changing the behaviour of drivers” for which further work is already underway, concurrent to the consultation period;

·         A planned review of the diesel levy and emissions based charging that will report back later this year, and the start of the procurement process for an IT system that can support an emissions based charging policy.

This Council believes:

·           Air quality is a significant public health issue that, as with all policy changes, requires a link to be made between the action proposed, the outcome desired, and a means of measuring success;

·           That this innovative proposed scheme for parking charges is presented to the public  with evidence and analysis that the specific charges being proposed will improve air

·           quality by driving down car use or reducing journeys by incentivising changing to more sustainable travel options;

·           That as vehicle emissions have a direct relationship to air quality, and emissions based charging conforms to the ‘polluter pays’ principle, there is a clear logic which is now commonplace in London for a higher premium to be charged for vehicles that have higher emissions, and a lower charge for cars that have lower emissions and additional incremental charges for second and third vehicles belonging to one household; and

·           That some residents will need help switching to greener transport options. This is especially those who bought diesel vehicles on the understanding that they were more environmentally friendly, based on Government advice.

This Council therefore requests that Cabinet:

·         Awaits the results of the public consultation on the proposals outlined in the Public health, air quality and sustainable transport – a strategic approach to parking charges 2 adopted by Cabinet on 14 January 2019;

·         In future considers additional proposals for parking charges based on emissions, using evidence resulting from the planned review of the diesel levy and emissions based charges and learning lessons from similar schemes adopted by other London Boroughs, including results from when and if Sutton introduces charges along these lines;

·         Supports and promotes the Mayor of London’s new scheme to help smaller business owners scrap older more polluting vehicles, and investigates ways to help those with lower incomes to change to less polluting vehicles, such as a scrappage schemes for older cars, or only applying emissions based charges to new vehicle applications for controlled parking permits/appropriate sunset periods;

·         Continues to engage with the Mayor of London on air quality initiatives from City Hall: including the Ultra Low Emission Zone, as we welcome the introduction of a mini-ULEZ for the borough beginning in April 2019 as per Merton’s Air Quality Action Plan; other action to limit the number of high polluting HGVs travelling through the borough; assessing the possibility of Low Emission Bus Zones, like on Putney High Street.