Owning a car is not deemed "essential" in a capital city any more.
That was the message from Barking and Dagenham Council leader, Cllr Darren Rodwell, at a meeting of cabinet chiefs on Tuesday, May 25.
Cllr Rodwell was speaking ahead of a decision to deny parking permits to people who live in housing developments where bays don't exist, are restricted or private.
On controlled parking zones (CPZ), which are being rolled out across the borough, Cllr Rodwell said: "People have to understand the world has changed.
"You will now have to pay for the luxury to have a car. It's not something that is deemed as essential anymore in a capital city."
The zones have at times proved controversial, but Cllr Rodwell explained measures introduced to reduce car use are driven by government diktats around air quality and the environment.
He pointed to the extension of the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) - which is due to expand to the A406 and A205 on October 25 - as an example.
On the environment, Cllr Rodwell said: "If you don't look after the very thing that gives us life, it's not hard to work out what's going to happen."
He explained how the town hall had to take people with it and stand up to residents who don't believe the facts.
Cllr Rodwell added the town hall would lobby government in order to improve infrastructure, including at both Barking station and Dagenham East station, which serves an area set to become home to film studios expected to deliver a £35million boost to the local economy.
"If [government] want us to continue to build the homes cars are not welcome in, then we need to have the right passenger transport to allow people to move around," Cllr Rodwell said.
The town hall predicts up to 50,000 homes will need to be built over the next 20 years to keep pace with the borough's growing population.
In its planning role, it is seeking to exercise controls to make sure the impact of new builds on services and infrastructure are alleviated by developers.
Barking and Dagenham's approach to parking since 2016 has been to cut congestion caused by parked vehicles; improve road safety; optimise existing spaces; enforce rules fairly; and cut pollution.
Charges rise based on emissions and the number of vehicles per household.
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