Rotherhithe Streets for People - Controlled Parking consultation

A parking zone is a network of local streets, which all come under one permit area. Residents and businesses need to buy a permit to be able to park their car on the street during the zone operating hours but may park without a permit when the zone is not in operation.

Some parking zones in the borough operate all day and some just for a couple of hours in the middle of the day.

A zone with a shorter time tends to be more effective in areas where parking pressure is caused by commuters and would offer more flexibility for your visitors.

A zone with a longer time tends to be more effective in areas where parking pressure is caused by local attractions.

The map below shows the streets we are proposing to include in the Rotherhithe Village area CPZ. There is more detail later in the document.

• Space is prioritised for local residents, businesses and their visitors.
• Reduces car use and the negative effects associated with it.
• Commuters will be discouraged from parking on your street during the operating hours.
• Improved access for emergency services and refuse vehicles.
• The council, through our Streets for People strategy, would like to reduce the dominance of cars on our roads and free them up for other uses such as play, walking, cycling. We want to make our streets safer, increase the number of trees on our streets, and improve air quality. These are all things residents have told us they want.
• Through the planning process, residents in newly built developments may be prevented from applying for parking permits to avoid additional parking stress in the area as necessary.
• Reduces the number of cars parked on your street and improves air quality.

• Those entitled to a permit must obtain it and pay to park in the zone. This payment funds the administration and enforcement of parking controls and any surplus must legally be spent on transport related activities, such as new crossing points, improved safety schemes.
• Parking can be displaced into nearby uncontrolled roads.
• Street signs and lines.
• Visitors to properties within the zone must also have a permit to park during the operational period.

The council’s current permit costs for the financial year of 2023/2024 for the average ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) compliant vehicle is £4.32 per week. Hybrid vehicles cost £2.88 and electric vehicles cost £1.44 per week.

Disabled badge holders’ permits cost 57p per week with free parking for Blue Badge holders in Shared Use Bays.

Visitor permit prices vary with full details on our website. Outside of the permit operating hours, your visitors may park for free.

For businesses, we can explore putting in short stay free bays to accommodate customers. When the permit scheme is not in operation, some free parking may be available.

Please note that parking/permit charges are subject to review and annual inflation.

The cost of the permit is used to fund the cost of implementing, administering and maintaining the CPZ. If there is any surplus income it will be used within the legal ring-fence for parking income under section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. For example, it could be used for important things we all rely on, such as safer crossings and pavement maintenance.

Southwark Council carried out a parking consultation in 2016. However, there may have been changes over the years, which have added to the parking pressure in the area, and as such we are consulting you again.

As well as you having your say on the principle of whether a CPZ is made in this area, this is an opportunity to view our detailed maps and give your thoughts on the proposed zone layout and influence the position of bays, the type of bay and the location of double yellow lines. If it is decided to proceed with the proposal, we will then consider these comments during any final designs.

Please note that permit parking or other controls can be made by the Council on any highway or road to which the public has access, within the scheme boundary. Below is a list of named private roads and Housing Estates which are excluded from the proposals. More details can be found in the detailed maps provided as part of our online consultation form:

• St Marys Estate – Housing Estate
• Henley Close – Housing Estate
• Adams Garden Estate – Housing Estate with parking restrictions
• Western Place – Private non-public highway
• Clarence Mews- Private non-public highway

Should a CPZ be implemented in neighbouring roads, residents of private roads within the CPZ area would still be able to purchase a permit to allow them to park in a controlled area.

The proposed area is surrounded by permit parking schemes, with CPZ ‘G’ in the west, CPZ ‘H’ in the south and CPZ ‘S’ in the east which was implemented in September 2022. This means that the roads in the proposed area are the only ones that offer free parking. 

The area is also home to Rotherhithe station, which is an attractive destination for commuters who drive their cars and park close to the station, and continue their journeys on the train, therefore reducing available parking for residents and their visitors.

We have conducted a stress survey which was carried out in September 2023 which indicated high parking stress (over 80% occupancy) on the majority of the roads in question. 

In recent years we have introduced parking restrictions in the north of the borough based on requests from residents and parking pressure, including in the Surrey Docks and Bermondsey areas. This is likely to have increased parking pressure in Rotherhithe Village, as the only unrestricted section in the north of the borough. Full details of the surrounding controlled parking zones can be seen on the map below:

As part of this consultation, you can select to be included in a new controlled parking zone, not to have a zone at all or to be included in the existing Rotherhithe zone, which operates Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm and is shown in green on the above map.

We have carried out parking stress surveys across all unrestricted roads (roads that do not have any parking controls on them) in the borough. The map below shows your neighbourhood categorised into three categories. Red means that 80% or more of the parking spaces were in use, orange means that 60% were, and green means less than 60% were. This means that for the red roads, 8 out of 10 parking spaces are occupied, which could mean that you may have to drive further to find parking near your home or even park in a neighbouring road.

Railway Avenue does not show any parking pressure as both sides of the road are restricted by double yellow lines. Brunel and Salter Roads are shown as blue as these roads already contain restrictions.

The parking stress data above shows the parking stress over two weekdays and one weekend day period, morning, afternoon, and evening, during term time in September 2023.

Any reported collisions are logged by the council and Transport for London to understand where potential interventions are required. Collisions at junctions are more likely when excess parking reduces visibility. The Rotherhithe Village area went through a junction protection programme after the previous CPZ consultation. If this CPZ were to be implemented, we would expect to see fewer vehicles in the area and thus less potential for collisions. Most collisions in the area have taken place on Brunel Road or in the Rotherhithe Tunnel.

What do people think in areas where we’ve already done this?

We understand that you may have concerns about living in a controlled parking zone, particularly if you own a car or have regular visitors that travel by car. It is helpful to remember that most areas of the borough already have controlled parking and people quickly adapt to the change. We offer a range of different permits, which can accommodate your visitors, tradespeople and those who have a Blue Badge.

We have received many positive comments from residents after parking zones have been implemented, some of whom were initially anxious about the plans. Comments from Camberwell residents include:

“ I am writing to say how delighted we are with the controlled parking zone (CPZ), and to apologise for the resistance to your plan from everyone in this house. It’s literally transformed the street – we very seldom use the car but when we do, we can park without any difficulty at all, and the street is now an open and peaceful place to live.”

“ The environmental improvement is huge and an important boost to city living. Now that we have the CPZ in operation our streetscape has been transformed. We can park without difficulty and the appearance of the area has changed beyond recognition.”

However, we acknowledge that the implementation of controlled parking zones can cause displacement to surrounding roads as demonstrated by the comments received following the recent implementation of a zone further north in the borough:

“ Walking around the newly implemented parking zone, there are now empty bays, yet the surrounding roads are jam packed with cars that are left there all week, as it is local residents who have been forced to move their cars. I have just had to park my car some way off from my flat and watched at least 4 cars crawling around looking for a space causing more pollution than normal.”