Londoners - where on earth do you park?

[Mrthomas21]

Greetings Pistonheaders,

I'm looking at moving to London just after Christmas but...the house is in the Hammersmith/Chiswick area and it seems their parking restrictions are worse than Stalin. Apparently they only do permits for the home owner and not tenants.

Does anyone live in this area and know of alternative solutions. I see ads for parking spaces in gumtree and the like but they usually start at £125 per month and I'm not sure what kind of view the insurance co would take when you say "yeah it's parked in some blokes space down the road but don't worry we have an agreement."

I wouldn't need to use it that often but i would like to keep up with car ownership, partly to protect my 6 yrs of no claims and partly because I wouldn't be much of a Pistonheader waving my Oyster card about.

Anyone ever stuck their car in one of those sea freight things? Any other long secure long term parking solutions? I would pay a £100+ a month if i thought it was all kosher

Any suggestions appreciated

[swamp]

Mrthomas21 said:

Apparently they only do permits for the home owner and not tenants.

Rubbish.

If you have a tenancy agreement, a council tax bill (or proof of address) and a V5 (in new address) you will be able to get a resident's permit.

Kensington, Westminster and Camden are very strict, but Hammersmith & Fulham should be a bit more laid back about the documents you need.

Buy a book of visitors' permits too. Useful for mates, deliveries, tradesmen etc.

[eyebeebe]

swamp said:

Mrthomas21 said:

Apparently they only do permits for the home owner and not tenants.

Rubbish.

If you have a tenancy agreement, a council tax bill (or proof of address) and a V5 (in new address) you will be able to get a resident's permit.

Kensington, Westminster and Camden are very strict, but Hammersmith & Fulham should be a bit more laid back about the documents you need.

Buy a book of visitors' permits too. Useful for mates, deliveries, tradesmen etc.

Agreed. We rented in Twickenham and the Lib-Dem council that runs Richmond borough are seriously anti-car. No issues getting a parking permit with the docs mentioned. Paying to park based on emissions is just plain wrong though!

[rottie102]

eyebeebe said:

Paying to park based on emissions is just plain wrong though!

It didn't bother me when I got 50% discount for parking an LPG converted car in H&F...

[Garlick]

Not true, tenants are just as entitled. I've done it before myself.

Pop in to see the council and they'll sort it.

[swamp]

eyebeebe said:

Paying to park based on emissions is just plain wrong though!

Absolutely. All parked vehicles have the same CO2 emissions! Actually I think the new Conservatives council plan to end emissions-based parking

[croyde]

My borough hands out the permits willy nilly so there are more permits than places. I can get back late to my street and end up parking half a mile away or more and worse is risking the yellow lines outside my house and forgetting to move it early and having to pay £60 to the council.

Parking for a private motorist in London is such a hoohah that I am amazed that there is so much traffic. Maybe they are all looking for somewhere to park.

Every borough has different rules so even using my motorbike involves a search of the web before any journey across town to check on the parking restrictions in the area I am visiting/working in.

I understand that in Brighton you have to wait for a long time for a permit as they do restrict the amount that they hand out annually. I don't know what you are supposed to do with your car if you have just moved there.

[dougc]

Tenant here too and as long as you can prove your address, Westminster have no problems handing out passes. None of that CO2 malarky either - just engine size and even then its only 2 bands like the old style VED.

[Mrthomas21]

Thanks for the advice guys

[angusc43]

Mrthomas21 said:

Greetings Pistonheaders,
I wouldn't be much of a Pistonheader waving my Oyster card about.

Nothing wrong with an Oyster card as long as you keep the car :-)

[jdw1234]

Here you go chief.

Its all explained in the form. No probs being a tennant.

http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Transport_and_Str...

Reminds me that I have to do mine this month!

[agxster]

I used to live in Hammersmith and Fulham and yes like others have said you can get a parking permit even if you are just renting like I was.

Don't expect to park outside you flat/house though. Sort of fun, park the car down one of 5 roads nearby, don't use it for a few days. Then try and remember where you parked it, walking around the neighbourhood for a good 10 mins.

[Big E 118]

Chiswick is in Hounslow. I rented there for a while and had no problem getting a permit, although as usual in London you may never actually find a space within a mile of your house!

[k-ink]

I once bought a place in Clerkenwell so had to sell my car. I simply couldn't be bothered with all the hassles. Even when you do decide to drive it you'll just sit in traffic.

I since moved out of the smoke and back to a life of real driving again. Never looked back

[pestman77]

Car + Parking + in London = Nightmare!!!!! Daily battle for me and I get right p*ssed off with it.....

Would never live there...

[AUDIHenry]

This is why I love living in Los Angeles. Just don't park where it's red and you're pretty much good to go. When did it become normal to submit documentation that you live in a certain place to be given a privilege to park? What nonsense.

[TEKNOPUG]

AUDIHenry said:

This is why I love living in Los Angeles. Just don't park where it's red and you're pretty much good to go. When did it become normal to submit documentation that you live in a certain place to be given a privilege to park? What nonsense.

That's certainly an accurate and fair comparison

[hairyben]

Yeah you'll also need the v5 and your driving licence both registered to your new address, which of course you won't have cos you'll have sent them off, most boroughs allow for this, some like barnet give you a free 2 week dispensation, some like camden will act like utter s before reluctantly agreeing to sell you an overpriced 1 month permit

[Hackney]

AUDIHenry said:

This is why I love living in Los Angeles. Just don't park where it's red and you're pretty much good to go. When did it become normal to submit documentation that you live in a certain place to be given a privilege to park? What nonsense.

Since the place was built hundreds of years before the car was even invented.
Also, since the cost of housing went mental which means that a townhouse built for a family (pre-car) has now been converted into flats and houses 10 single, working people who all own a car. The front of said house is only 5m wide. "You do the math" as they say in LA.

[croyde]

Hackney said:

AUDIHenry said:

This is why I love living in Los Angeles. Just don't park where it's red and you're pretty much good to go. When did it become normal to submit documentation that you live in a certain place to be given a privilege to park? What nonsense.

Since the place was built hundreds of years before the car was even invented.
Also, since the cost of housing went mental which means that a townhouse built for a family (pre-car) has now been converted into flats and houses 10 single, working people who all own a car. The front of said house is only 5m wide. "You do the math" as they say in LA.

Same problem in my street where the overpriced houses are only about 12ft wide yet everyone apart from us now , has 2 cars and then there are the ones that are converted into flats with maybe 4 young professionals that all own cars living in them.

Have to agree with the poster above in that quite often I have to park in a different street then not use the car for a few days or even weeks and then cannot for the life of me remember where I had left it.