Parking enforcement change of contractor from 1 October 2024
Kingston Council has appointed APCOA as the borough’s new parking management contractor.
APCOA will take up the contract on 1 October, replacing NSL (Marston Holdings). APCOA will be responsible for checking that vehicles have a valid parking session, permit or exemption everywhere Kingston Council parking charges or restrictions apply.
There will be no disruption to parking services for customers.
Where parking enforcement applies in the borough
Parking enforcement applies to:
- multi storey car parks
- surface car parks
- paid parking zones
- permit parking areas
- controlled parking zones
- school streets
The council is also responsible for moving traffic enforcement on roads in the borough, except for private roads and those operated by TfL.
Responsibilities of the new contractor
APCOA will be responsible for:
- issuing parking permits and visitor permits
- registering exemptions for school streets
- monitoring enforcement in areas where parking or access are charged or restricted
- issuing Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) on behalf of the council when rules are broken
Paying for car parking in the borough
There will be no change to how you register or pay for car parking.
Find out more about paying for parking in Kingston
Current permit holders
All permits will remain valid until their expiry date. You do not need to renew your permit early.
NSL will continue to issue permits and enforce parking restrictions until 1 October.
From 1 October you’ll be able to apply for or renew a permit:
- online using the APCOA platform (we’ll link to this from our parking pages)
- by phone via APCOA’s customer service centre
- by post
We’ll signpost you to the correct application system from our website. We’ll also write to customers ahead of the change of contractor with more details.
Applying for new permits
You should apply for a new permit as soon as you need it. Current applications should be processed by 30 September.
Most standard permit sales are processed within a day. More complex applications can take longer to process and may be paused awaiting further information from the customer. Any incomplete applications will need to be restarted on the APCOA portal after 1 October.
Existing account holders will need to reset their password by following the ‘forgot password’ link the first time they log on to the system after 1 October. All of your information will be retained.
If you have more than 1 account associated with an email address, the customer service team will be able to help you with this after 1 October.
Apply for a parking permit on the current system
Renew, amend or cancel a permit on the current system
Visitor parking
Visitor parking scratchcards will remain valid until the expiry date printed on them. Any prepaid time in the online system will also remain valid.
Electric car parking
Electric car parking permits will still be free.
Penalty Charge Notices (PCN)
Everyone who receives a PCN has the right to register an appeal. Your PCN will tell you how to do this.
Benefits of the new contract for residents
Our contracting process seeks to provide the best value for residents.
The cost of providing parking services is covered by charges to customers who use the spaces, rather than taken from council tax. This includes enforcement, maintenance and administration of parking, both on the street and in car parks. Any surplus is reinvested in transport services such as the taxicard scheme and concessionary fares.
The effective administration and enforcement of parking services benefits residents by keeping highways safer and traffic flowing. It also enables fair access for residents, visitors, business users and others to parking close to homes, shops and services.