Greenwich’s ‘sustainable streets’ CPZ scheme branded a ‘done deal’

Updated story: Plans to introduce controlled parking zones across much of the north of Greenwich borough have been branded a “done deal”, after the council launched a complex consultation and gave residents less than six weeks to respond.

The “sustainable streets” proposal will introduce permit parking to a wide swathe of the borough, from its western boundary at Lee Green to its eastern boundary at Plumstead. Areas affected include Kidbrooke, Blackheath, Charlton, Woolwich, Shooters Hill and west Thamesmead.

Streets will be “greener, safer, and more sustainable” under the project, the council says, adding that the proposals will cut down on parking congestion, help people switch to electric vehicles and encourage cycling. The plans follow an initial survey carried out in February, which 3,000 residents contributed to.

But the complexity of the consultation and its timing – six weeks during the summer holiday – has handed ammunition to CPZ critics. Residents are asked to find their street in one of 14 different areas, before having to consult a more detailed individual map, drawn up by the council’s transport department, to see what is planned for their road.

Greenwich Council told The Greenwich Wire that the consultation was so detailed to “provide residents with all the information they need to share meaningful feedback”, and that a further consultation would be held once final designs had been drawn up.

The scheme was launched on Monday afternoon. Residents have until August 22 to respond with their views. A series of public meetings will also be held next month.

Maps indicate that a mixture of permit parking and pay-by-phone parking would be introduced across the area, along with electric car charging points and long-demanded bays for dockless bike hire schemes such as Lime and Forest. There will also be spaces for car club vehicles and more street trees. Areas in CPZs which currently have free parking bays will be switched to paid-for parking.

Most CPZs in Greenwich are now charged on the vehicle’s emissions, with a “base price” of £100 per year. Owners of zero-emission vehicles pay £20 per year, the biggest polluters pay £300. Additional vehicles in a household carry a £100 surcharge each.

One group who will be affected are fans of Charlton Athletic who park in streets south of Charlton Park on matchdays. Many free bays would be converted to pay-by-phone parking under the scheme alongside permit parking in other roads. The council had previously floated plans for matchday restrictions but these do not feature in the new plans.

However, despite claims that the plan would make streets safer for cyclists, there are no plans yet to change traffic flow in roads. Nor do they feature measures to help pedestrians more directly, despite residents pointing out dangerous junctions in the initial survey earlier this year.

Greenwich Council said that it was “exploring safer road crossing points” that would make life safer, while it insisted that cyclists would benefit from new cycle storage, vehicles being parked in “appropriate spaces” and people switching to cleaner vehicles.

And while consultation materials focused on sustainable urban drainage – small “rain gardens” to help stop streets from flooding – the maps do not feature any. The council told The Greenwich Wire: “We have not yet finalised the locations yet. It is likely these will be introduced after some of the other proposed infrastructure is completed.”

Elements of the maps have also led to confusion. Fearon Street, in east Greenwich, appears to feature a parking free-for-all, despite already being in a controlled parking zone. However, the council denied claims that already-existing street trees were being passed off as new ones on the maps.

The Greenwich Wire attempted to clarify aspects of the scheme on Tuesday morning but did not receive any answers until noon on Thursday. With radio silence from the council, and local WhatsApp groups abuzz with rumours, a petition opposing controls in Plumstead had passed 1,250 signatures at 1.30pm on Thursday. The petition claimed the area had “unique needs” and that implementing a CPZ would “exacerbate” parking difficulties.

Plans for CPZs to cover the entire borough were unveiled by the council three years ago as part of its transport strategy. Most of Greenwich itself is already in controlled parking zones, while the consultation does not include most of the south of the borough. 

The council aims to generate £1 million a year from the “sustainable streets” scheme by 2029, according to the budget approved in February. By law, income has to be ringfenced for transport-related projects, including contributing to the council’s share of the bill for the Freedom Pass. The scheme is due to cost an initial £680,000 to implement, according to the same budget.

Averil Lekau, the council’s deputy leader, said in a statement issued on Monday: “Greenwich is one of the fastest-growing boroughs in London. With more new development that ever before we need to make sure that our streets work for everyone, as well as responding to the climate emergency.  

“We’ve listened to residents and businesses and that feedback has shaped proposals for what sustainable streets could look like. Now we want to know what our residents think of the proposed designs.

“Parking permit schemes help manage parking demand and can offer better parking access to homes and shops. Together, we can make our borough a greener, safer, and more sustainable place for all to enjoy.”  

But Matt Hartley, the Conservative opposition leader, said on Wednesday: “This looks like a done deal. There is next to no public confidence left in Greenwich Council’s consultations – particularly on controlled parking zones – and deservedly so.  The Labour councillors who run our borough have consistently shown they will impose their parking and low traffic neighbourhoods, regardless of what local people think.  

“This consultation process on so-called ‘sustainable streets’ asking residents to comment on what are highly detailed and complex proposals in just a six-week turnaround – held over the summer at a time when lots of people are away – will only reinforce residents’ suspicions that the council has already decided what it wants to do. 

“If they care about public confidence in the process, Greenwich Council should extend the consultation period and give residents more time to engage with the details of what is being proposed in their streets.”

A council spokesperson said on Thursday: “Feedback like this is exactly why we are undertaking such a large consultation, to make sure that the proposals we develop truly meet the needs of each area. We had more than 3,000 responses in the first phase alone, and we want to continue hearing from as many people as possible to help make our streets greener, safer and more sustainable for everyone.  

“In February 2025, we reached out to around 70,000 households in our first phase of engagement. We found that parking issues are a real concern for over half residents, and that there are barriers to either getting an electric vehicle or cycling. 

“We appreciate that the consultation may feel detailed. That is because we want to provide residents with all the information they need to share meaningful feedback. This current round of consultation will directly inform the final designs, and residents will have another opportunity to either support or object to the proposals at that stage. 

“The most important thing is taking part via the consultation itself – either through Commonplace or a paper survey. Your feedback is essential to shaping the future of this project. Residents are also invited to attend in person or online events to give their feedback and learn more about the scheme.” 

Greenwich’s climate strategy, agreed in 2020, called for a 45 per cent cut in car use in the borough by 2030 – but the pandemic and cuts to bus and rail services have damaged any hopes that this would be achieved. 

Earlier this month a transport scrutiny panel heard that driving was going up in the borough, rather than down, with nearly 1.2 million kilometres driven in 2023, compared with 1.05 million in 2016. The number of vehicles also grew over that period, from 80,000 to 84,000.

The consultation is at sustainable-streets-rbg.commonplace.is.

Story updated at 1.45pm on Thursday to incorporate belated response from the council.

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