On street parking in Merton could soon cost drivers up to £4.50 an hour.

The changes will come in after April next year and will be made in an effort to reduce air pollution in the borough.

A report considered by the council’s cabinet on Monday shows that nitrogen dioxide pollution in some areas breaches EU limits.

The council has identified ‘air quality focus areas’ in Mitcham, Morden, Raynes Park and Wimbledon which have high levels of pollution.

Cabinet member for health Cllr Tobin Byers told the meeting: “It has been a number of years since charges were last reviewed and many of our charges have been frozen for a significant period of time.”

He went on to say that air pollution can have an impact on people’s mental and physical health.

Cllr Byers added: “While parking policy might seem like quite a blunt tool to achieve these objectives, it is nevertheless one of the tools we have at our disposal which we can use as we seek to improve the health and wellbeing of people in our borough.”

The report shows that on street parking will be split into four categories.

Zone 1 is Wimbledon town centre which is set to increase to £4.50 an hour, up from £1.20-2.40 an hour.

Zone 2 is Wimbledon Village, Wimbledon Park, South Wimbledon Raynes Park at Colliers Wood – £3 an hour.

Zone 3 is Mitcham, Morden and other areas not specified, which will be £1.50 an hour – the same as Wimbledon Common which will be Zone 1a.

There will also be a rise in fees for car parks across the borough, with one of the biggest increases at Broadway car park in Wimbledon which will double from £1 to £2 an hour.

At Kenley Road car park in Morden, there will be a whopping £4 increase – it will cost £7.50 a day rather than £3.50.