Streets ahead for parking

If you're buying a property in central London and have to park on the street, concentrate your house-hunting in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Not only does the borough have the cheapest residents' parking permits of any borough inside the Circle line, but you can park in any residents' parking bay, a perk so valuable that some buyers refuse to consider properties outside the borough boundaries.

As local authorities ratchet up the cost of roadside parking, tighten restrictions and encourage developers to build car-free new homes to wean Londoners off their cars, parking legally in London is becoming a battle of wits between motorists and traffic wardens desperate to meet their ticket targets.

Worst affected are the four boroughs of Westminster, Camden, Islington and Kensington and Chelsea, which are together responsible for the most of the busiest parts of central London, thronged with workers and visitors as well as residents. With nearly half of all Londoners admitting to owning at least one car and nearly 20 per cent two cars, central London homeowners face hot competition for space. Mayor Ken Livingstone's plan for a congestion charge could ease the situation but many believe people will pay the daily charge rather than abandon their cars. So where are the best central parking deals? Here's the lowdown.

KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA

Cost of residents' permit: £70, unchanged for several years, although the price is under review.
Residents' parking zones: None. The permit is valid in any residents' parking bay in the borough. This generous arrangement is unique in London and is greatly valued by those in north Kensington, who can park in residents' bays by Peter Jones in Chelsea. In some areas (around the Earl's Court exhibition centre, for example) it is residents' parking only until late into the evening by local request.
Number of spaces: 43,000 permits for 27,000 spaces.
The downside: Expect to drive around looking for a space. At least when you find a resident's bay, there's no nonsense about it being in the wrong zone for your permit.
Cost per hour on a meter: £1.50 an hour north of Holland Park Road, up to £3 an hour south of Holland Park Avenue.
Borough comment: "We have tried to maximise the amount of on-street parking with a strong bias towards residents. We actively prosecute people who obtain residents' permits fraudulently."
Verdict: Still the best deal in central London for residents' permits.

CAMDEN

Cost of residents' permit: £86, up from £82. Valid only for the zone in which it is issued.
Residents' parking zones: 16
Cost per hour on a meter: From £1.20 in the north of the borough to £4 in the south.
Number of spaces: 35,000 permits issued for 22,500 spaces.
Comment: "We have an innovative policy of encouraging car-free development. This is the way of the future. We encourage developments without parking when they're near good public transport. All our policies are designed to help residents."
Verdict: Parking is getting trickier (deliberately) and more expensive. There are more zones than in any other central London borough, so there is more chance of not being able to find a free space within your zone. More permits than spaces are allocated so expect a frustrating search for a space. There is no advantage in hunting for a Camden parking meter as opposed to a Westminster one in central London: an hour's stay costs the same. £4.50 and £13, depending on location.

WESTMINSTER

Cost of residents' permit: £90, increased from £88 in April. Valid only in the zone for which it is issued.
Residents' parking zones: Seven, covering the whole borough. "Everything is zoned," says a spokeswoman.
Number of spaces: 40,000 permits issued for 31,500 spaces.

Cost per hour on a meter: Between £2 and £4.
Useful tip: Parking is free on single yellow lines, pay and display and meter spaces outside controlled hours (normally 8.30am to 6.30pm). Cheap overnight parking in all Westminster car parks between 6pm and 9am for between £4.50 and £13 depending on location.

Comment: "We try to provide parking in order of priority for residents, the disabled and those who need their car for work, and casual visitors. We deal with planning applications with car parking on their merits."
Verdict: Parking is tricky, expensive, tightly zoned and there's no such thing as a free parking space during controlled hours. If you're looking on the Westminster/ Kensington borders (for example in Lowndes Square, Cadogan Place or the south side of Brompton Road), follow the advice of Adam Carey at Friend and Falcke's Knightsbridge office and buy in Kensington.

ISLINGTON

Cost of annual resident's permit: £95 (£75 for cars with engines below 1500cc), valid only for the zone for which it is issued. Unchanged since last year. Islington has the most expensive parking permits in London for larger cars.
Residents' parking zones: Nine across the borough plus two around Arsenal football ground on match days. Consultations are taking place on further zones.
Number of spaces: 8,000-9,000 permits for 9,346 residents' bays plus parking rights in 2,000 shared spaces.
Cost per hour on a meter: £1 in the north of the borough, £2 in the middle and £2.40 in the south.

Borough comment: "The council will discourage private car journeys, which will be achieved by parking control and other measures." Islington is increasingly refusing planning permission to proposed developments with parking attached and as a further deterrent to car owners, refuses residents of certain new developments the right to apply for parking permits.
Verdict: Still the most expensive residents' parking in London for larger cars. But meter parking in the south of the borough is a bargain for an hour's stay compared with neighbouring Camden. And with more residents' spaces than permits issued, you shouldn't have to spend hours driving round in search of a space.