DRIVERS in the borough are waking up to the massive increase which is about to hit their parking charges.

Across Greenwich, the cost of people’s annual parking permit is set to rocket by an average of £42 while the cost of car parks and meters is also shooting up.

The permit rise, set to take effect later this month, is particularly bad news for people living in Strongbow Road and Crescent in Eltham, who currently pay just £15 a year but will now pay £57 - a 280 per cent increase.

Tenants association secretary Carol Gargaro, aged 64, said: “I think it's disgusting.

“My petrol's going up, my insurance is going up, the gas, the phone, everything.

“I'm a pensioner. Your pension doesn't cover all those increases.

“The motorist is hit all the time.”

The retired carer said the parking zone on her road, designed to stop commuters from leaving cars in the streets near Eltham station, represented poor value already as it was only enforced by wardens for one-and-a-half hours a day.

She said: “We now pay £15. We wouldn't argue if it had gone up to £20 but they want to put another £42 on top.

“Our members are going to find it really hard.”

Elsewhere in the borough, permit costs will rise from £27.70 to £70, bringing them in line with neighbouring Bexley borough. A further rise for 2013 will see that figure grow again to £84.

The increase was approved in March at Greenwich Council’s budget meeting, though Ms Gargaro says she has only just been notified of her new charge, taking effect on May 16.

Back at the meeting, council leader Cllr Chris Roberts admitted that the charges would could cause “some concern”.

But, blaming bankers and the subsequent financial crisis for the need to make cuts, he told councillors: “We don’t seek to raise these charges by the level we have out of choice.”

The charges are still dwarfed by neighbouring Lewisham Council which plans to double the cost of permits from £60 to £120.

A spokesman for Greenwich Council said: "Council funding from government has been reduced by 30per cent, or £63m, with 68 per cent of spending cuts having to be made by April 2012.

"The challenge we are facing is how we continue to protect front line services whilst dealing with this major reduction in our income.

"Greenwich parking charges have been lower than many neighbouring boroughs for some time, and have been frozen for the past two years.

"The cost of this new permit is a little more than £1per week, although we would clearly wish not to have to make any increase at all.

"The council has successfully indentified savings and efficiencies to protect our libraries, leisure centres and children’s centres, alongside continuing support for street cleaning, refuse collection and our work with the police.

"Despite the huge challenges we face, our commitment to support Greenwich households continues as residents benefit from the 7th freeze in Council Tax in the last 13 years."