Redbridge asks £2.20 an hour and £11 once you pass three. The Exchange multi-storey is £4.50 up to six hours. On-street's free hour still needs the app.

Redbridge runs 18 car parks and charges the same tariff at every one of them. That tariff has a cliff edge in it. An hour costs £2.20 and three hours cost £5.50, but the moment you go past three hours the price doubles to £11.00. There is no four-hour band and no all-day band.

That single fact decides where you should park in Ilford, and it is why the private multi-storey at the Exchange is worth knowing about. Every figure below comes from Redbridge Council, Transport for London or the operator’s own page, checked on 30 August 2026.

The quick answer

Short stop in Ilford town centre: the council’s Lynton House or Mildmay Road car parks at £2.20 an hour, or an on-street bay, where the first hour is free.

Anything over three hours in Ilford: the Exchange Ilford multi-storey, at £4.50 for four to six hours against the council’s flat £11.00. It is open 24 hours and takes number plate recognition rather than tickets.

Commuting by Tube: the eight TfL car parks at Central line stations are £5 a day cashless, £2 on a Saturday or bank holiday and £1.50 on a Sunday. South Woodford is the exception at £6.

Free parking: every council car park is free outside its operating hours and free all day on bank holidays. Blue Badge holders park free in all of them. On-street bays give one free hour a day, but you must still start a RingGo session or you will be ticketed.

The council’s 18 car parks

Every one of these charges the same:

Duration Cost
Up to 1 hour £2.20
1 to 2 hours £3.85
2 to 3 hours £5.50
Over 3 hours £11.00
1 month season ticket £185.00
3 month season ticket £499.40
6 month season ticket £907.50
12 month season ticket £1,650.00

What differs is the days and hours each one charges on, and that is where the money is. Only two of the 18 charge on a Sunday, and both are in Ilford town centre.

Car park Where Charging times Spaces Season tickets
Ilford High Road (Lynton House), IG1 1NF Next to Lynton House Mon to Sun, 7.30am to 5.30pm 51 No
Mildmay Road, IG1 1DT West side of the Albert Road junction Mon to Sun, 7.30am to 5.30pm 66 No
Craven Gardens, Barkingside, IG6 1ZZ Opposite the library car park Mon to Sat, 6.30am to 6.30pm 172 Yes
Court Way, Barkingside, IG6 1HW Off Tanners Lane, behind the Magistrates Court Mon to Sat, 7.30am to 5.30pm 104 Yes
Cranbrook Road, Gants Hill, IG2 6LA Next to Gants Hill library Mon to Sat, 7.30am to 5pm 192 Yes
Goodmayes Road, IG3 9UF Off Goodmayes Road Mon to Fri, 7.30am to 5.30pm 75 Yes
High Road, Seven Kings, IG3 8RU Opposite the Pembroke Road junction Mon to Fri, 7.30am to 5.30pm 170 Yes
Derby Road, South Woodford, E18 2PZ Entrances on Derby Road and Fullers Road Mon to Fri, 7.30am to 5.30pm 72 Yes
Eastwood Close, South Woodford, E18 1BY South of George Lane Viaduct Mon to Sat, 9am to 6.30pm 52 Yes
Eastwood Close (second site), E18 1BY South of George Lane Viaduct Mon to Sat, 9am to 6.30pm 38 Yes
Primrose Road, South Woodford, E18 1DE Under George Lane Viaduct Mon to Sat, 9am to 6.30pm 12 Yes
Mulberry Way, South Woodford, E18 1EB End of Primrose Road Mon to Sat, 9am to 6.30pm 22 Yes
High Road, South Woodford, E18 2QS Between Churchfields and the North Circular Mon to Sat, 7am to 5.30pm 55 Yes
Grove Park, Wanstead, E11 2RL Near the High Street junction Mon to Sat, 7am to 5pm 76 Yes
Charteris Road, Woodford, IG8 0AL On Charteris Road Mon to Sat, 9am to 5pm 135 Yes
Sir James Hawkey Hall, Woodford, IG8 0BG Entrance on Broomhill Road Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm 180 Yes
Station Road, Chadwell Heath, RM6 4BU Next to Chadwell Heath station Mon to Sat, 7am to 7pm 125 Yes
Wangey Road, Chadwell Heath, RM6 4BW Off Cedar Park Gardens Mon to Sat, 7.30am to 5.30pm 56 Yes

The car parks themselves are open 24 hours, including bank holidays. Charges only apply during the times above, so a Sunday in Barkingside, Gants Hill, Wanstead, Woodford or South Woodford costs nothing, and Saturday is free at Goodmayes, Seven Kings, Derby Road and Sir James Hawkey Hall. Ilford town centre is the place where the day of the week does not help you.

Height limits are mostly 7 feet. Craven Gardens is 6ft 10in and the Eastwood Close and Primrose Road sites are 6ft 6in, so a roof box or a high-top van will not get in.

Payment is by RingGo or at any PayPoint shop, using the location code on the sign. There are no coin machines. Each car park has its own RingGo location number, listed on the council’s page.

The private car park that undercuts the council

The Exchange Ilford multi-storey, entered from Ley Street and Myrtle Road, is not run by the council and is not on the council’s list. Its published tariff is cheaper than the council’s across every stay longer than an hour:

Duration Exchange Ilford Council car park
0 to 2 hours £2.00 £3.85 for 1 to 2 hours
2 to 4 hours £3.50 £11.00 once you pass 3 hours
4 to 6 hours £4.50 £11.00
6 to 8 hours £8.50 £11.00
8 to 12 hours £11.00 £11.00
12 to 24 hours £13.00 Not offered

It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across five parking levels, with 31 disabled bays on levels 2 and 3 and 40 family bays on level 1. It uses number plate recognition, so there is no ticket to display. You pay at a kiosk, through the YourParkingSpace app on location ID 11285, by phone, or by scanning a QR code on the way out.

On-street: the free hour that still needs an app

Redbridge gives you one free hour a day in its on-street pay and display bays. After that you pay by the hour, at a rate that depends on the location.

The trap is in the council’s own wording. To use the free hour you must still have an active RingGo session. If you do not start one, you get a Penalty Charge Notice, even though the hour itself is free. The free session can only be used once per day.

Penalty charges

The council’s own figures:

  • £160 for the serious contraventions, such as parking on a yellow line or on the pavement
  • £110 for the less serious ones, such as sitting in a pay and display bay with no valid session
  • 50% off if you pay within 14 days, so £80 or £55, or within 21 days for bus lane, red route and bus stop tickets
  • Ignore it and a charge certificate adds another 50%, with no right of appeal at that stage

The council also warns that PCN text messages asking for payment are a scam. Redbridge issues tickets at the vehicle or by post, never by text.

Permits

Resident permits are needed to park on the street in a controlled parking zone. They are free if you hold a Blue Badge. Otherwise:

Permit 6 months 12 months
First vehicle £26.00 £39.50
Second vehicle £105.00 £184.00
Each additional vehicle £168.00 £305.00

The jump from the first to the second vehicle is the striking part: a second car costs more than four times the first, and a third costs nearly eight times.

Permits arrive by post within 10 working days, and you cannot park in your zone until the permit is in the car. Changing the address, name or vehicle on a permit costs £27.50, a replacement for a lost permit costs £27.50, and cancelling early costs £27.50 deducted from the refund. A stolen permit is replaced free if you have a crime reference number. Motorcycles do not need a permit at all. Details are on the resident permit page.

Visitor permits come in packs of 10 daily scratch permits at £17.50 a pack, up to five packs in any rolling month. They do not expire, and there are no refunds. Blue Badge holders can order up to five packs a month free. One permit covers one day and one vehicle, and you cannot display two at once. Tradespeople cannot buy their own, so the household has to supply one if the van stays longer than it takes to unload.

Blue Badge

A Blue Badge costs £10 in Redbridge and a replacement is another £10. Decisions usually take up to 12 weeks. Applications go through GOV.UK, and the council refunds the fee if it refuses you.

With a badge you may park free:

  • in any of the council’s 18 car parks, for as long as the car park is open
  • in a resident or visitor permit bay, for up to three hours
  • on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours, where there are no loading restrictions
  • in on-street bays and Blue Badge bays for as long as you need, unless a time limit is signed

The clock on the badge must be set to the 15-minute period you arrived wherever a time limit applies.

A disabled resident parking bay outside your home is free to apply for and free to have. The council’s conditions are strict: a valid Blue Badge, a car registered to your address, no garage or driveway, a heavily parked road, and the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. Wheelchair users and partially sighted residents can nominate a driver at the same address with a supporting GP letter. The bay, once marked, can be used by any Blue Badge holder.

Station parking

There is no station car park at Ilford, Seven Kings or Goodmayes. National Rail’s record for Ilford lists no general parking, only eight accessible bays reached via Ilford Hill by the north-west entrance. Elizabeth line commuters in those three towns are using the council car parks or the street.

The Central line is different. TfL runs car parks at eight stations in the borough, and they are much cheaper than the council for a full day:

Station car park Spaces Blue Badge bays Weekday, cashless Sat and bank holiday Sunday
Newbury Park, IG2 7RN 456 6 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50
Woodford, IG8 7QE 169 10 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50
Redbridge, IG4 5DQ 147 4 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50
Hainault, IG6 3BD 79 4 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50
South Woodford, E18 1JJ 75 4 £6.00 £2.00 £1.50
Barkingside, IG6 1NB 46 2 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50
Fairlop, IG6 3HD 30 2 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50
Wanstead, E11 2NT 19 3 £5.00 £2.00 £1.50

Paying with cash costs 20p more: £5.20 a day, or £6.20 at South Woodford. Cash, debit and credit cards are all accepted. Height limits are 1.9m at Newbury Park, Redbridge and South Woodford and 1.95m at Woodford. The figures come from TfL’s own car park records, last updated 27 August 2026.

Note the reversal on bank holidays. The council’s car parks are free, and TfL’s still charge £2.

What is not on this page

We have left out on-street tariffs by street. The council publishes the free first hour and says the hourly rate after that “depends on your location”, without publishing a table, so there is no verified figure to give. Read the sign, or check the location code in RingGo before you commit.

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