Thousands more drivers face £200 bills to park outside their own homes

Councils across London are pressing ahead with a sliding scale of charges for residential parking permits that penalises owners of fuel-hungry vehicles.

Richmond was the first to push through a swingeing £300 levy on gas-guzzlers and 4x4s earlier this year.

Now other authorities are planning to do the same as the green lobby piles on the pressure for tougher measures against motorists.

From the beginning of next month, Hackney residents with cars that have engines bigger than four litres (producing around 350g/km of carbon dioxide emissions) will have to pay £207.50 a year - compared with £80 now.

These include the BMW 745 and Hummer.

Cars with engines over three litres, including the BMW 735 and some models of the Land Rover Discovery and Isuzu Trooper, will attract an annual charge of £166, while anyone who wants to park a Mercedes E-Class or Porsche Boxster, at over two litres, in a controlled parking zone (CPZ) will get a bill for £124.50.

Owners of smaller cars under 1200cc - such as some models of Volkswagen Polo, Ford Focus and Nissan Micra - and hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, much loved by environmentally conscious MPs, will be charged only £41.50.

And permits will be free for electric vehicles such as the Mega City and Piaggio Porter van.

Islington, meanwhile, is carrying out a borough-wide referendum on a proposed increase from £95 to £200 for cars over 2500cc.

It claims about a third of motorists would pay more, and two-thirds would either pay less or see no change in the cost of a parking permit.

In a message to residents, the council's Lib Dem leader James Kempton said: "Cars dirty our air. They emit carbon dioxide, along with other pollutants, so reducing their emissions will be a step in the right direction."

Similar charging structures are being considered by Lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Camden, Kensington & Chelsea, Barking & Dagenham, Haringey, Southwark and Brent.

The London experiment is being watched closely by other cities where parking space is at a premium.

The Richmond scheme was supported by fewer than half the borough's residents in a vote, and critics condemned it as a revenue-raising exercise which would have little impact on the environment.

But London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who wants to raise congestion charging for big cars from £8 to £24, has called for other councils to follow Richmond's lead.

Nick Lester, director of transport, environment and planning for London Councils, an umbrella organisation for the capital's 33 local authorities, said: "There will be opposition from drivers of large cars who feel disadvantaged.

"But this policy is not just window-dressing,' he added. "There is clear evidence that it will have a significant impact on air quality and climate change."