Council tariffs for every car park in Bromley, Beckenham, Chislehurst and Penge, plus the 35-plus permit zones, Blue Badge rules and what The Glades charges.
Parking in Bromley is cheaper than most of London, and the borough is unusual in saying so out loud. When the council froze charges for 2026 it claimed a record of keeping them “probably the lowest in London”, and noted that it does not price by engine size or fuel type the way many boroughs now do (Bromley freezes car parking charges). This guide covers the council car parks in Bromley town centre, Beckenham, Chislehurst and Penge, the on-street rates, the controlled parking zones, what a Bromley parking permit costs and how to apply for one, blue badge rules, and the privately run car park at The Glades.
Almost everything council-run is paid through RingGo rather than a ticket machine, so have the app before you arrive. If a machine is out of order you are still expected to start a RingGo session, and parking without paying risks a Penalty Charge Notice (car parks in Bromley).
Bromley town centre car parks compared
Two big multi-storeys carry most of the town centre demand, and they price very differently once you are past three hours.
| Car park | 1 hour | 2 hours | All day | Spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockwell Close (BR1 3UH) | £1.50 | £3.00 | £7.00 over 4 hours | 691 |
| The Hill (BR2 0DA) | £1.50 | £3.00 | £5.80 over 3 hours | 340 |
| Mitre Close (BR2 0DA) | £1.70 | £3.10 | 2hr max | 24 |
| Palace Grove (BR1 3HF) | £1.70 | £3.10 | 4hr max | 97 |
| Crown Lane (BR2 9PQ) | £0.60 | £1.20 | £3.00 over 4 hours | 37 |
The Hill and Stockwell Close: the two long stay options
The Hill on Beckenham Lane is a 24 hour multi-storey paid through RingGo on zone 26238, with 340 spaces, four blue badge bays and two electric charging points. Charges run 7.30am to 6.29pm at £1.50 an hour, rising to £4.50 for three hours, then flattening at £5.80 for anything over three hours. From 6.30pm to 7.29am there is a fixed evening tariff of £1.50 (The Hill car park).
Stockwell Close, the former Civic Centre multi-storey, is the biggest in the borough at 691 spaces, with 19 blue badge bays and 19 electric charging points including 12 Tesla rapid chargers. It runs on number plate recognition rather than RingGo, so there is nothing to display. Charges are £1.50 an hour between 7.30am and 6.29pm, £7.00 for over four hours, and a fixed £1.50 overnight (Stockwell Close car park).
The council’s own value parking page names these two as the best all day rates in the town centre, alongside on-street bays at Bickley Park Road and Page Heath Lane at a maximum £2.40 a day.
What it means for you: under three hours the two multi-storeys cost the same, so pick whichever is nearer. Past three hours The Hill is cheaper by £1.20, but Stockwell Close is far larger and has the charging points. For a short stop, Crown Lane at 60p an hour is the cheapest tarmac in Bromley, though it charges Monday to Friday only and has just 37 spaces.
Palace Grove is weekend only, charging 8.30am to 9pm on Saturdays and Sundays with a four hour maximum, and Mitre Close is a 24 space surface car park with a two hour maximum. Both are the priciest per hour in the town centre at £1.70, and both drop to the £1.50 fixed evening tariff after 9pm and 6.30pm respectively.
Beckenham, Chislehurst, Penge and Orpington
Outside Bromley town centre the tariffs fall away sharply.
Beckenham has the best value long stay in the borough. Both the Village Way multi-storey (278 spaces, BR3 3NP) and the Fairfield Road surface car park (98 spaces, BR3 3LD) charge £1.00 for the first hour, £1.80 for two, £3.30 for four and £6.40 for over seven hours, charging from 7.30am to 9pm with a £1.50 evening tariff after that. Fairfield Road splits into two RingGo zones and sells season tickets.
Chislehurst High Street car park (140 spaces, BR7 5AQ) is cheaper still: 90p for the first hour, £1.60 for two, and £3.50 for over four hours (Chislehurst High Street car park).
Penge East on Station Road (56 spaces, SE20 7BQ) charges £1.30 for up to two hours, £2.40 for four and £3.00 over four hours (Penge East car park).
Orpington is the exception, and it surprises people. The council’s only listed car park there is Homefield Rise (BR6 0RU), which is 15 disabled bays and a motorcycle bay. Blue badge holders and motorcycles park free at any time; other drivers may only use it between 6.30pm and midnight for a fixed £1.60. Daytime parking in Orpington town centre means on-street bays or a privately run car park, not a council one.
On-street parking charges
Paid on-street bays are common across the borough, and Bromley is one of the few London councils that lets you pay for less than an hour.
- High Street, Bromley: £1.80 an hour on zone 6030 near Bromley South station, £2.30 on zones 6019 near Ringers Road and 5996 near the cinema, two hour maximum. Zone 6019 runs 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday; the others 8.30am to 6.30pm. All three charge 10am to 5pm on Sunday (High Street, Bromley).
- High Street, Orpington: £1.20 an hour on zones 6046 and 6057, Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6.30pm, maximum stay varying by bay (High Street, Orpington).
- High Street, Beckenham: £1.20 an hour on zone 6063, two hour maximum, Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6.30pm (High Street, Beckenham).
What it means for you: on-street in Bromley town centre is the priciest parking in the borough by the hour and is capped at two hours. Shopping for longer, the multi-storeys are both cheaper and unrestricted.
Bromley parking permits: zones, costs and how to apply
Much of the residential land around the town centres sits inside a controlled parking zone, and there are more than 35 of them across the borough. The pattern is straightforward once you see it: zones with a short operating window, typically noon to 2pm, exist to stop commuter parking and cost £80 a year for a resident permit. Zones with all day or evening operation cost £150 a year. Visitor vouchers are £45 for a book of 15 in the cheaper zones and £55 in the dearer ones (parking permit information and charges).
A few worth knowing by name. Bromley North (zone B), Bromley South (zone C) and Penge (zone PGE) all run noon to 2pm at £80. Beckenham (zones BEC and F) runs 8.30am to 8pm every day at £150, and Chislehurst (zone U) and Burnt Ash Lane (zone G) run 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday at the same price. Orpington has four separate zones, H, I, K and M, split across both tiers depending on hours.
Bromley Town Centre is the awkward one. You cannot buy a permit for zone A alone: residents apply for a combined zone A and B, or zone A and C permit at £150, and even then it does not guarantee all day parking in zone A or admit you to pay by phone only bays. Combined permit holders are barred from zone A bays between 9.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Saturday.
Business permits exist in eleven zones, at £125 a year in most and £275 in Chislehurst, Copers Cope and Locksbottom.
How to apply for a Bromley parking permit
Applications go through the Bromley permit portal at permits.paysmarti.co.uk, not through the main council website. You create a permit account first, then apply against your address and vehicle. The same portal handles residential permits, business permits, visitors’ vouchers, dispensations, suspensions, car park season tickets, car club permits, blue badge permits and height barrier permits (parking permits and visitors’ vouchers).
Three things catch people out:
- The permit is electronic, so nothing arrives in the post. Approved applications give electronic cover from the date you specify, and Civil Enforcement Officers check it on a handheld against your number plate. There is no disc to display, which is why an entered registration with an O instead of a 0 becomes a Penalty Charge Notice.
- Changing car means uploading the V5C. Residential permit holders swapping vehicles have to upload the vehicle registration document through their portal account rather than just editing the plate.
- Visitors’ vouchers are still paper. They come in books of 15 at £45 or £55 depending on the zone, and each one has to be scratched to show the date before it goes on the dashboard.
Prices start at £80 per vehicle per year and rise with the zone’s enforcement hours, so the cost of a Bromley parking permit is set by when your zone operates rather than by where it sits.
What it means for you: check which zone your street is in before you budget. The same permit is £80 in a noon to 2pm commuter zone and £150 two streets away in a zone enforced 8.30am to 8pm.
Blue badge parking
Blue badge holders park free of charge in every council operated car park, provided the badge holder is benefitting from the trip and the badge is displayed and visible from outside the vehicle. Free parking also applies in the paid on-street bays listed above. At the ANPR run Stockwell Close car park badge holders must first register for a permit through the council’s parking permits page, because there is no ticket to display.
A proposal to start charging blue badge holders was dropped in January 2025 once the council found a balanced budget, and it has not returned (no parking charge for blue badge holders). The council warns that badge misuse is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to £1,000 and confiscation.
The Glades: privately run, priced differently
The Glades shopping centre car park is not a council car park and does not follow council tariffs. It charges £1.50 for up to an hour, £3.00 for two, £5.00 for four, £7.50 for six, and £15.00 for anything over six hours. From 6pm until closing there is a flat £1.50 rate. The car park opens 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 7pm on Sunday, with last entry an hour before closing, and overnight parking is not permitted. Blue badge holders can claim up to four free hours, but must do it in person at the Guest Service Lounge (The Glades car park).
What it means for you: The Glades is fine for a two hour shop, where it matches the council multi-storeys exactly. Stay longer and the gap widens fast: a full day costs £15.00 there against £5.80 at The Hill.
Frequently asked questions
How much is parking in Bromley town centre?
Council car parks charge £1.50 an hour. All day is £5.80 at The Hill for over three hours, or £7.00 at Stockwell Close for over four. On-street bays on Bromley High Street are £1.80 to £2.30 an hour with a two hour maximum. The Glades charges £15.00 for over six hours.
Where is the cheapest parking in Bromley?
Crown Lane at 60p an hour is the cheapest in the town centre, but has only 37 spaces and charges Monday to Friday only. For a full day, The Hill at £5.80 is the cheapest council option, and Chislehurst High Street at £3.50 for over four hours is the best value in the borough.
Is parking free in Bromley in the evening?
Not free, but close to it. Most council car parks switch to a fixed evening tariff of £1.50 for the whole overnight period, typically from 6.30pm or 9pm.
Do blue badge holders pay for parking in Bromley?
No. Blue badge holders park free in all council car parks and in paid on-street bays, as long as the badge is displayed and the holder is benefitting. At Stockwell Close, which uses number plate recognition, you must register for a permit first.
How much is a resident parking permit in Bromley?
£80 a year in zones with short operating windows, such as Bromley North, Bromley South and Penge, and £150 a year in zones operating all day or into the evening, such as Beckenham and Chislehurst. Visitor vouchers are £45 or £55 for a book of 15.
How do I apply for a Bromley parking permit?
Through the Bromley permit portal at permits.paysmarti.co.uk. Create a permit account, apply against your address and vehicle, and the permit is issued electronically from the date you choose. Nothing is posted out, and enforcement officers check your number plate on a handheld. If you change car, upload the V5C through your account.
Can I park all day in Orpington town centre?
Not in a council car park. Homefield Rise is limited to blue badge holders and motorcycles by day, opening to other drivers only from 6.30pm to midnight for a fixed £1.60. Daytime options are on-street bays at £1.20 an hour or a privately run car park.
Sources
All council figures come from the London Borough of Bromley: the car parks directory and its individual car park records, plus value parking, permit charges and season tickets. The Glades tariff is from theglades.co.uk.
Tariffs were frozen for 2026 but are reviewed periodically, so check the sign before you pay. If you are parking for the commute, our trains to London guide compares season tickets with contactless caps, and Bromley roadworks and travel has what is dug up this month. Our guides to Bromley council tax bands and Bromley bin collection days cover the other council services residents ask about most.
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