Residents who live in areas of Kingston where parking is controlled are outraged they may have to pay up to three times more for their parking permits from now on.

The residents are furious at the charges, which are expected to generate £525,000 extra a year for the council and will be linked to cars’ CO2 emissions.

The council said the move is to improve air quality.

Six residents from Queens Road and surrounding streets from New Malden gathered to explain why they are against the price hike, and have set up an email contact to challenge the plans.

Helen Glover’s eight-year-old car (the average age of a car in the UK) means she will have to pay £160 under the new scheme – but she only drives it once a week.

She said: “I mostly cycle or use the train if I’m going into London.

“I live in this area because I have family out in Surrey, and there’s poor public transport for where I want to go.

“For people in a similar situation who can’t afford to keep parking, this could cut off their support networks – or their families’.”

The current permit fee is £90, which will stay the same for any car that emits up to 120g of CO2 per kilometre – except electric and hybrid cars, which will now be free to park.

Permits will become more expensive the greater the car’s emissions, with additional charges for diesel cars and second/third cars in every home.

Gareth John, a singer with a young family and a two-car household, is facing a charge increase from £180 to £300 including the second car surcharge.

He said: “It shouldn’t be that people who live in a residents parking area have to pay when people who live in a house with a drive with a massive Land Rover don’t have to.

“I have to travel a lot for work. I don’t mind paying it, but I do mind that someone with a drive doesn’t have to.

“It’s such a specific group they’re targeting.”

 Sam Rospigliosi owns a hybrid car, but she is still against the changes.

She said: “Just because someone has an older car, they shouldn’t be charged more.

“They might only use it once a week or they might not be able to afford a new one.

“It’s not means tested, which is how it should be. It’s not fair.”

John Reise owns a three-year-old car with very low CO2 emissions, meaning his permit will stay at £90.

He said: “I have no axe to grind, but I see it as an unfair tax on one section of a community – and air pollution is not just caused by that group.

“Being a leafy borough, as they say, we have lots of houses with off-road parking, who don’t need permits.

“But in this area there are lots of older houses that don’t have any means of parking off-road.”

Mr Reise, a lifelong Liberal Democrat voter who said he will no longer support the party because of this, suggested a uniform levy across the borough.

Damon Noad, who has until now leafleted locally for the Lib Dems but has vowed not to any more, drives a diesel car so faces a £50 surcharge.

He said: “Two years ago, we bought a Volvo to be environmentally friendly as possible, ironically.

“It emits just 110mg of CO2. Then after we placed the deposit, diesel was all over the news.

“So we have a relatively non-polluting car, but with NOx emissions from diesel we’re faced with paying this blanket £50.

“If you are actually interested in environmental impact, it makes more difference in changing how people drive.

“The council says its aim is to try to reduce things like school runs, but this won’t do that. They can’t do that with resident parking charges.”

The group was also worried about the prospect of future differential charging based on emissions for town centre parking, which would mean paying for emissions on road tax, CPZ permits and parking.

And they said in their experience the parking wardens do not check every vehicle – so they are paying for a service they do not get.

During our conversation, two wardens rode past on mopeds in quick succession without stopping.

The Lib Dems, who run the council, have said the new charges will be paid for in instalments, to make them easier to pay.

Councillor Hilary Gander, portfolio holder for environment and sustainable transport, said: “Clean air is essential for a good quality of life, and how we move around Kingston has a huge effect on our collective health and life expectancies.

“In Kingston, air pollution is thought to contribute to the equivalent of 1 in 20 deaths.

“We want to protect the health of our residents by encouraging people to think about their choice of vehicle and transport.

“We also want to drive behaviour change to improve air quality by discouraging unnecessary car journeys and encouraging the use of environmentally friendly forms of transport.

“Air quality will stay at the heart of our decision-making, and will continue to be an integral part of our commitment to the health and well-being of our residents and those who visit our borough.”

The final proposals  will be going back to Environmental and Sustainable Transport Committee later in the year.

Mr Noad asks anyone who feels similarly about the plans to email KingstonCPZ@gmail.com.