Pressure grows in Island parking

The next few years will see around 800 new homes pop up in the immediate area, but those who need a spot to park may find their options limited.

Blackwall Way resident Thomas Gere moved into his flat five years ago, and has seen the competition for spaces intensify.

He said: "There are many more residents so it's harder to find one.

"It's a nightmare for parking. There's a shortage of spaces here already because there's a lot of new development. If you're a new resident here you can't apply for a permit so you're only able to park at night after 5.30pm or on weekends."

The area's proximity to Canary Wharf has made it a handy parking spot for commuters.

A private car park on Yabsley Street charges £8 a day for cars and up to £15 for vans, but developer Baladine Properties received permission last year to turn the site into seven and 17-storey residential blocks, featuring another 141 flats.

The nearby Building C extension of New Providence Wharf will add 499 flats, but only 202 car parking spaces, 19 motorbike spots and 486 cycle bays.

Construction is also underway on Swan Housing's "car-free" Streamlight at Alberta project, a 25-storey tower with 133 units.

Residents raised the issue of overcrowding without success when the Yabsley Street project reached Tower Hamlets Council last June.

The council has promised City Hall it will add 2,999 homes a year until 2011, but it is pursuing a policy of minimising parking spaces on new developments.

Many residents learned of the council's solution to the problem when they left their homes to find several on-street parking bays converted for car club use.

The switch affects two on Yabsley Street, three on East Ferry Road, two on Manchester Road and six on West Ferry Road, as well as several elsewhere in Tower Hamlets.

The council says it announced plans to designate up to 157 spaces for clubs such as Zipcar, Hertz Car Club, Street Cars and City Car Club in February, but many locals claim they heard nothing.

Mr Gere said: "Car sharing is a good thing, provided prices are fair and everyone can use it. The problem is the lack of consultation. The residents were not properly advised about it."

A council spokesperson said it used its mouthpiece East End Life to announce the move.

He said: "The council supports the provision of car clubs, which can bring significant environmental benefits to the borough.

"However, we are mindful of the impact allocating parking spaces to car clubs can have on residents and will inform them of any changes.

"In this particular case, residents were formally notified of the proposed changes to parking bays through public notices clearly placed both in East End Life and at street level."

Blackwall and Cubitt Town councillor Tim Archer believes the council's car free policy is "short term thinking" which "persecutes" the car owner.

He said: "I don't believe car free developments are the answer. In an idealised world you don't need a car. But if you have a family, you do. I feel so strongly that it's just the wrong policy.

"It's unfair the council issues more parking permits than there are parking spaces, and then happily goes and nabs four more from one of the most congested areas in the borough without telling anyone. It's crackers."

Cllr Archer also said the spaces were rented to clubs at £100 a year, offering 24-hour use to the company at roughly the price of a resident's parking permit.

He said: "They're getting an absolute bargain. I don't believe you can find a parking space nearer to Canary Wharf at that price. You could probably charge 10 times that."

Zipcar UK general manager Paul McLouglin argued that several of the spaces it received were re-designated from single and double yellow line.

He said: "I don't think we're taking away that many residents parking spaces. Around 40 per cent of our members choose to give up a car, so for every Zipcar we put out there, we're taking 20 cars off the road."

Zipcar has struck deals to offer spaces in several locations in the Isle of Dogs, such as churches, the Skylines Village in Marsh Wall and Blackwall's Ibis Hotel.

Discussions about underground car club spaces in Isle of Dogs schemes have taken place, but often hinge on whether the spaces are residents-only.

Some developments in New York incorporate off-street car club parking as an offering tucked into the service charge.

Mr McLouglin said: "We've looked at what car ownership is like in the area, and it's one of the lesser percentages in Tower Hamlets. A lot of people buying there may have just moved to London or work in Canary Wharf and perhaps don't need a car as much.

"We see the car club as a way people can still have mobility without being inconvenienced by the fact there's nowhere to park and that it costs an arm and a leg to do so."