The London Borough of Islington is proposing to ballot every resident over whether owners of 'gas guzzlers' should pay more for parking permits, to encourage them to switch to greener, less polluting vehicles. <br><br>It is believed this will be the first referendum on tackling climate change in this country*, if council members give the referendum a green light next week. <br><br>Cllr James Kempton, Leader of Islington Council, said: "This council's priority is listening to Islington. That's why, on this important and high-profile issue which will affect everyone in the borough, whether they own a car or not, we want to ballot all our residents. <br><br>"Everyone agrees we have to make changes to help tackle climate change, but not everyone agrees on which changes we should make. There are tough choices to be made if we want to make this borough greener and our residents know this <br><br>"As a community, we are already taking bold steps to tackle climate change. This is challenging individuals to reflect on the cars they drive and the pollution they cause and the impact this has on people's environment. We are sharing this particular dilemma with local people, we know there will be both supporters and opponents and we look forward to engaging them in the debate. <br><br>Cllr Lucy Watt, Executive Member for Environment, Islington Council said: "All cars are polluting, but we understand that some people are reliant on them in their everyday lives. This new permit system would give people an incentive to switch from a 'gas guzzler' to a less polluting car. <br><br>"Our residents have already shown overwhelming support for our green policies - for example, Islington has the fastest increasing recycling rate in the Capital, and the car club Streetcar recently confirmed Islington has its fastest growing membership in the UK.<br><br>"We know this particular green policy would impact on a lot of people. Not everyone will agree with it, because it's about making the polluter pay more, and everyone else pay less. That's why we are seeking their views, and we'll listen to them before we act."<br><br>Local authorities rarely hold referenda, apart from on whether to have an elected mayor, or as part of the council's budget consultation. <br><br>When Islington Council carried out a borough-wide public consultation on the council's budget at the end of 2006, local people backed the council's commitment to listen to them, with 73 per cent supporting investment in listening to the community and involving them in decision-making.<br><br>Islington Council will decide whether to hold a referendum on changes to parking permit charges at a the next Executive meeting on Tuesday 17 April. <br><br>If councillors agree to hold a referendum on this issue, residents will be asked whether they think Islington Council should change its parking permit charging system, to encourage residents to switch to vehicles that emit lower levels of C02 and other air pollutants. <br><br>The changes to the permit system would link residents parking permit charges to CO2 emission rates and vehicle engine size. They are designed to be 'revenue neutral' -- so they would not increase Islington Council's income from parking permit charges.<br><br>To view the full report on the proposed referendum, log on to http://pubweb/Democracy/meetings/executivemeetingdetail.asp?meetingid=1695<br><br>ENDS
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009