Letters sent in from Recorder readers this week.

Permit scheme must be stopped

Craig Fish, Newham, full address supplied, writes:

I’m not sure how aware you aware of the new charge that Newham Council are introducing in January 2021. They say this is emissions based charging as Newham is one of the highest polluting boroughs in the UK.

They have decided to start charging residents who require a resident parking permit. The charge is tiered but will cost most residents somewhere between £60 - £200. But, this doesn’t include those residents who own a car and have a driveway as they don’t need a permit.

Furthermore most traffic in Newham is likely due to commuters travelling into and out of London. So why penalise the residents and furthermore only the residents who don’t have the luxury of their own driveway?

They say they advertised this for a vote yet only 82 people responded and 63 of those were against, yet they are still introducing it. They posted this on March 6 and the vote had a closing date of March 22. Not a very long period of time and not really made public if only 82 voted. This therefore looks like a very sneaky tax.

Newham is a very poor borough and on top of this there is the fact that the pandemic has meant people have lost jobs and income, how can they possibly be allowed to enforce this.

Most residents are NOT aware of this and the costs.

This needs to be made public and it needs to be stopped.

We didn’t know about consultation

Sham Ruperalia, Beckton, full address supplied, writes:

We are very disappointed in Newham Council for imposing emissions-based charge on parking permits. Apparently they did a consultation on March 6, 2019. The closing date was March 22, 2019.

I have spoken to a lot of Newham residents who never heard about this consultation and apparently 69 people opposed the idea and 19 people were in favour.

I have already got 100 people to sign my petition. They should have made it more public and the date should’ve been a lot longer.

I leave my car parked at home and use public transport. It costs me £42 a week for a TravelCard.

My car is parked up, it is not causing emissions.

I have been a resident for 35 years. This all started because the university students’ parking was removed so they could build student accommodations.

All the students started parking in the local streets/road/close, to the disappointment of all local residents because we would all come home from either work or socialising and our cars would be blocked in or there would be no space for us to park.

So we put in for a residents’ permit holders only scheme and your first permit was free which everyone agreed to and thought it was very fair.

I think everyone in Newham should know what Newham Council are doing.

Pollution not all from residents

Farida Ahad, Tasman Walk, Canning Town, writes:

I am writing to you in regards to the proposed parking permit charges that Newham Council wish to implement in January 2021. They have carried out so-called consultations to gauge the views of residents and overall, although most want something to be done to tackle the pollution issue, many don’t want the permit charges.

Of course I am a resident who does not have access to a lot of information but I would ask, has a survey/study been carried out as to when, how and by whom the pollution is being created?

We have the A13, A406 and of course City Airport, which is in the process of expansion. Has anyone looked at those polluters and how are they being penalised?

We don’t have the shops we need

Josephine Phillips, Canning Town, full address supplied, writes:

As a long term resident of Canning Town I would love to see our ‘high street’ back to its former glory.

Remember the Good Friday free market that was renowned all over the country and beyond?

As a pensioner I don’t frequent the bookies, chicken shops and ‘clubs’ so how are we expected to spend our money when we do not have the shops we need?

An ideal high street should include a baker, wet fish shop, butcher, clothing/underwear/shoes, gift shop, stationers and card shop etc.

So, instead, we all go to Stratford or beyond to everyone else’s high streets.

Thanks for your Alzheimer’s walks

Linda O’Sullivan, Alzheimer’s Society head of region for London, writes:

Every autumn, Alzheimer’s Society Memory Walk events across the UK see thousands of people come together to raise money to help defeat dementia.

Sadly, this year, coronavirus meant we had to cancel the large-scale events we all know and love. Instead, we asked people to step out and support us by doing their own personal walks, from July to October, in line with government guidelines.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and generosity of 1,295 supporters across London who signed up and helped raise over £1.2million for Alzheimer’s Society.

We want to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in Memory Walk this year and made a difference to people affected by dementia.