Parking in Lewisham: Car Parks, CPZs, Permits and Fines

Parking in Lewisham runs on around 30 separate controlled parking zones, named on the council’s own list from Deptford and Evelyn through Blackheath, Lewisham Central and Catford down to Grove Park, and each one has its own hours. On top of that, both the council car parks and the residents’ permits are priced by your vehicle’s emissions, so two neighbours parked side by side can be paying quite different amounts for the same space. This guide sets out the council car parks and what they cost, every CPZ and its hours, what permits cost, and what happens if you get a ticket.

The quick answer

If you are visiting Lewisham town centre, Molesworth Street is the council car park to aim for, and it is the expensive one. If you are visiting Catford, Holbeach Road, Thomas Lane and Canadian Avenue are all roughly a third cheaper per hour than Lewisham centre. If you are parking in Forest Hill, Perry Vale and Pearcefield Avenue give you the first two hours free. And if you are parking on the street anywhere in the borough, check the zone plate first, because there is a good chance you are in a CPZ.

Council car parks and 2026 tariffs

Lewisham Council runs eleven car parks, listed on its car parks managed by the council page. There are two price levels: a higher tariff for the busiest sites at Molesworth Street and Slaithwaite Road, and a lower one everywhere else.

Every car park is priced by emissions band. Band 0 is electric, bands 1 to 5 cover petrol and Euro 6 compliant diesel by CO2 output, and older diesels that are not Euro 6 compliant pay a further surcharge on top.

Source: Lewisham Council car park tariffs. Bands 2, 3 and 4 sit between the figures shown.

Molesworth Street, Lewisham town centre

Fifty-one spaces, five of them disabled, open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm and Sunday 9am to 1.30pm, with a maximum stay of 10.5 hours. An electric car pays £2.79 for the first hour and £27.90 for ten. A band 1 petrol car pays £3.36 an hour and £33.60 for ten. A band 5 petrol car pays £5.69 an hour, and a non-compliant diesel in band 5 pays £8.31 for the first hour.

What it means for you: Molesworth Street is a short-stay car park priced like one. An all-day stay in an ordinary petrol car runs to £33 or more, so if you are working in Lewisham centre rather than shopping, this is not the answer.

Holbeach Road, Catford

The big one, with 672 spaces including 15 disabled bays, open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm, maximum stay 10.5 hours. An electric car pays £1.74 for the first hour, a band 1 petrol car £2.32, a band 5 petrol car £4.64. Ten hours in a band 1 petrol car is £23.20.

What it means for you: Holbeach Road is both the largest and, along with the other Catford sites, the cheapest per hour of the borough’s main car parks. If you have a choice between shopping in Catford or Lewisham centre by car, Catford costs about a third less.

Thomas Lane and Canadian Avenue, Catford

Thomas Lane has 61 spaces, six of them disabled, and runs Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm on the same tariff as Holbeach Road. Canadian Avenue has 131 spaces but a catch worth knowing: it is reserved for council staff Monday to Friday and only open to the public on Saturdays, 8am to 6pm. Turn up on a Tuesday and you cannot use it.

The free ones

Three car parks give you time for nothing. Perry Vale (92 spaces) and Pearcefield Avenue (99 spaces) in Forest Hill, and Girton Road (120 spaces) in Sydenham, all offer the first two hours free, though you still have to register the vehicle with the cashless provider. The council has a page specifically on free parking for two hours in Perry Vale car park.

The other council car parks are Beckenham Place Park (102 spaces, seven days a week, 8am to 5pm), Blackheath Grove (30 spaces), Molesworth Street, and Vanguard Street in Deptford (36 spaces). Motorcycles are charged separately and cheaply: 21p for 15 minutes, 84p an hour and £2.10 all day, using Pay By Phone location code 809598.

Controlled parking zones: the thing to check first

Lewisham is heavily zoned. The council operates around 30 CPZs, and its definition is blunt: “Controlled parking zones (CPZs) are areas where parking is restricted or reserved for permit holders only.”

What makes Lewisham confusing is that the hours vary enormously from zone to zone. Some run 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday. Others are open all day except for a two hour window from 10am to noon, which exists purely to stop commuters parking near a station. A stranger who assumes a uniform rule will get a ticket.

Source: Lewisham Council controlled parking zones and operating times.

What it means for you: the five zones with a 10am to noon window (P, LG, LW, MH and V) are the ones visitors misread most. Outside those two hours the street is open to anyone, which is why it looks unrestricted at 3pm on a Sunday and produces a ticket at 11am on a Tuesday. The zone letter and hours are on the plate at the entrance to every zone, and that plate, not this table, is what an adjudicator will look at.

Permits

Permits are managed at parkingpermits.lewisham.gov.uk and the system is now entirely paperless.

Resident permits are priced by emissions. The council does not publish a flat price list; instead the cost “is determined by the vehicle’s emissions” and you get your figure from the council’s permit calculator. Permits run for 3, 6 or 12 months, or as a rolling monthly subscription, and you can put up to two vehicles on one permit at no extra charge, though “only one vehicle will be covered by the parking permit at any one time”. Charges rose by 4.8% on 1 April 2026.

Visitor permits do have published prices, all from 1 April 2026:

• Ten one-hour vouchers: £22.40, so £2.24 an hour
• Half day, up to five hours: £5.59
• One day: £8.69
• One week: £37.25

Any household with an annual resident permit in a CPZ also gets 10 hours of free visitor credit, and so do residents over 60 who receive council tax support but hold no annual permit. You can register a visitor’s vehicle up to 28 days ahead or on arrival, and e-vouchers can be sent to a tradesperson or delivery driver electronically. Unused hours on a half day, day or week permit cannot be carried over or moved to another vehicle once activated.

Free permits. Disabled resident permits are free and last 12 months, and carer permits are free. A charity business permit is £133. Business, health trust and all-zone business permits are all emissions based.

What it means for you: if you run an older, higher-emitting car in a Lewisham CPZ, the permit is the biggest single variable in your parking costs, and the calculator is worth running before you buy the car rather than after.

Penalty charge notices

Lewisham uses the London-wide PCN bands introduced on 7 April 2025, set out on the council’s penalty charge notice charges page. Every one carries a 50% discount if you pay within 14 days.

You can pay or challenge your ticket online, and evidence photographs for a PCN are at pcnevidence.lewisham.gov.uk. Challenging pauses the 14 day discount clock in the normal way, but if the challenge fails you may lose it, so look at the evidence photos before deciding.

Bank holidays: Lewisham still enforces

Do not assume a bank holiday is a free-for-all. Lewisham enforces on public and bank holidays, with only Christmas Day and Easter Sunday treated differently, per the council’s page on parking and traffic enforcement on public holidays.

What stays enforced on a bank holiday includes footway and pavement parking, loading bans, bus stops, school zig-zags, dropped kerbs, double parking, car club bays, coach bays, electric vehicle charging bays and temporary suspended bays. Moving traffic contraventions such as box junctions, low traffic neighbourhoods, banned turns and weight or width restrictions are enforced “24 hour hours, seven days a week, throughout any holiday period”.

Frequently asked questions

How much is parking in Lewisham town centre?

At the Molesworth Street car park, one hour costs £2.79 for an electric car, £3.36 for a band 1 petrol car and £5.69 for a band 5 petrol car. The maximum stay is 10.5 hours and the car park is open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6.30pm and Sunday 9am to 1.30pm.

Is there free parking in Lewisham?

Yes, in three council car parks. Perry Vale and Pearcefield Avenue in Forest Hill and Girton Road in Sydenham all give the first two hours free, provided you register the vehicle with the cashless provider.

How do I know if my street is in a controlled parking zone?

Look for the zone plate at the entrance to the street, which carries the zone letter and the hours. The full list of around 30 zones and their times is on the council’s CPZ page. Hours vary sharply between zones, from 9am to 7pm down to a 10am to noon window.

How much is a resident parking permit in Lewisham?

There is no single price. Lewisham charges by vehicle emissions, so you get your figure from the council’s permit calculator. Permits run 3, 6 or 12 months or as a monthly subscription, cover up to two vehicles on one permit, and rose 4.8% on 1 April 2026. Disabled resident permits and carer permits are free.

How much is a parking fine in Lewisham?

Between £90 and £160 depending on the band and seriousness of the contravention, halved to between £45 and £80 if you pay within 14 days. Bus lane and moving traffic penalties are £160, or £80 within 14 days.

Does Lewisham enforce parking on bank holidays?

Yes. Only Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are treated differently. Pavement parking, loading bans, bus stops, school zig-zags and dropped kerbs are all still enforced on other bank holidays, and moving traffic restrictions are enforced around the clock throughout.

Sources

• Lewisham Council, car parks managed by the council and car parks and street parking
• Lewisham Council, controlled parking zones and operating times
• Lewisham Council, controlled parking zone permit charges, resident parking permits and visitor parking permits
• Lewisham Council, penalty charge notice charges and parking tickets
• Lewisham Council, parking and traffic enforcement on public holidays

Tariffs and permit charges are those published by Lewisham Council and checked in August 2026, and are normally reviewed each April. Always read the sign or plate before you pay. See also our guides to Lewisham bin collection days and Lewisham council tax bands.