Enfield plans one free 30-minute parking stay per vehicle per day, on street and in its 11 council car parks. A 30-minute stop currently costs up to £1.70.

Drivers in Enfield would get one free 30-minute parking stay per vehicle per day, on street and in every council pay-to-park car park, under a plan going to the council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 9 September.

A 30-minute stop in a paid on-street bay currently costs £1.70. A 15-minute stop costs 90p. Both tariffs would be scrapped, with the first chargeable stay starting at one hour. (Enfield Council, Cabinet report KD 6106)

The report, from the council’s head of parking services, asks Cabinet to approve a statutory consultation rather than the change itself. If members agree, the final decision is delegated to the Executive Director of Environment and Communities once consultation responses are in.

What is proposed

  • The first 30 minutes free in eligible paid on-street bays, borough-wide
  • The first 30 minutes free in all 11 council pay-to-park car parks, Monday to Saturday
  • One free stay per vehicle per day. A second short stop the same day, anywhere in the borough, pays the normal tariff
  • The 15-minute (90p) and 30-minute (£1.70) on-street tariffs removed; the next tariff is one hour at £3.30
  • Sunday charging in Enfield Town car parks is unchanged, including the current three hours free

The council says the scheme is meant to lift town centre footfall and delivers a manifesto commitment. Car park tariffs from one hour are unchanged: £1.60 for an hour, £3.10 up to three hours, £7.10 up to five, £11.50 beyond that. (Appendix 1, current charges)

Comparison graphic: a 15-minute on-street stop falls from 90p to free, a 30-minute on-street stop from £1.70 to free, and a 30-minute car park stop from £1.60 to free, limited to one free stay per vehicle per day. The 45-minute free bays at Lodge Drive and Fords Grove would be removed.
What a short stop costs now and under the proposal. Source: Enfield Council Cabinet report KD 6106 and Appendix 1. Graphic by Enfield Today.
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Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill lose their 45 free minutes

There is a trade-off, and it lands in the west of the borough. The existing free 45-minute bays at Lodge Drive car park in Palmers Green and Fords Grove car park in Winchmore Hill would be removed.

Those bays are free for 45 minutes with no once-a-day limit, but only in a limited number of marked spaces. The council’s report says that is “confusing for motorists and limits the overall benefit of the scheme”. In exchange, the whole of each car park gets the 30-minute free period, but capped at one stay per vehicle per day and 15 minutes shorter.

Which car parks are covered

The 11 council pay-to-park car parks listed in the report are:

  • Enfield Town: Little Park Gardens, Church Lane, New River Loop, Sydney Road (small), and Genotin Road (evenings and weekends only)
  • Elsewhere: Lion Road (Edmonton Green), Eagle House (Ponders End), Raynham Road (Upper Edmonton), Lodge Drive (Palmers Green), Michenden (Southgate) and Fords Grove (Winchmore Hill)

On street, the free half hour would apply across “eligible” paid locations in all wards. The higher long-stay tariffs around North Middlesex Hospital, £8 for three hours and £9 for four, stay as they are.

What it means for you

  • A single school run, prescription pickup or shop stop in a paid bay becomes free, once a day. The report puts the cost of a 30-minute stop today at £1.70 on street.
  • The free period is per vehicle, not per location. Using it in Southgate in the morning means paying the full tariff for a quick stop in Enfield Town that afternoon.
  • The report does not say how drivers would claim the free half hour, whether through the PayByPhone app, vouchers or automatically. That detail should come with the traffic orders.
  • Blue Badge holders keep their existing national concessions, including parking without time limit in eligible paid bays. Paper parking vouchers stay on sale in libraries and the Parking Shop.

Nothing changes yet. If Cabinet agrees on 9 September, the council must publish formal notices and run a consultation with at least 21 days for objections before any decision to go ahead. Implementation would cost about £5,000 in new signs plus £25,700 in legal and advertising costs, covering a review of 54 on-street and 22 car park traffic orders. No start date has been set.

The full report is on the Cabinet agenda for 9 September. Current tariffs, car park locations and payment options are on our parking in Enfield page.