\n<\/p>\n
People in Cardiff who drive sports utility vehicles (SUVs) or other large vehicles could have to pay more for a resident parking permit.<\/p>\n
Cardiff council said a public consultation into managing traffic in the city would also include plans to stop students from applying<\/a> for permits.<\/p>\n The aim is to reduce congestion, the council said, and to free up more parking spaces for certain groups such as residents, blue badge holders and businesses.<\/p>\n Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said the council was “unduly penalising” people who driver larger vehicles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SUV is a fairly loose term<\/a>, which encompasses larger vehicles that can look sleek but also have 4×4 capabilities to handle rugged terrain. <\/p>\n “The question we’re asking is whether people who want a residential parking permit should pay more if they drive a larger vehicle,” council leader Huw Thomas told BBC Radio 4’s Today<\/a> programme. <\/p>\n As well as new restrictions on permits for student-only properties, some residents would be unable to obtain a resident parking permit for their property under the scheme. <\/p>\n It would also see Cardiff split into four different parking areas, with different rules in each.<\/p>\n The fees involved have not been revealed yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “As people do through road tax, if you’re driving a larger or more polluting vehicle, to pay a bit more,” Mr Thomas added. <\/p>\n “The element of charging larger vehicles or SUVs, that is entirely focused on the residential parking, and these vehicles take up more space, they cause more damage to our roads.”<\/p>\n Mr Davies said he accepted residents want better parking outside their homes. <\/p>\n “I don’t believe it is right that people are going to be penalised unduly with a heavy tax on the vehicle they drive because of the conditions they live in,” he said. <\/p>\n A consultation is open until 1 December. <\/p>\n Any changes would not come into force until the Autumn of 2026 at the earliest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n