Hackney Council has published the amendments that were decided in the court settlement last year. This means we're at last able to talk about those changes, and why the settlement was reached.

First we want to be clear: we know this is not a total victory. It is a compromise. Most motorcycles will unfortunately have to pay for parking in Hackney. However, we do believe that this settlement was in the best interests of riders in Hackney and around the UK.

The changes, which will come into force on 6th April, are as follows:

• Solo motorcycle bays will be charged between £1.20 and £2.60 for a working day depending on the location. Block-booking rates will be available discounted 25% for a monthly pass, and 50% for a yearly pass, working out to around £150 to £340 per year. This is down from £12,500 a year (£50 per day) which Hackney originally tried to get away with. They’ve also been forced to drop the ban on all day motorcycle parking which they originally proposed.

• Residents permits will be reduced by half, still banded by emissions but no longer charged the same as cars. For example a 125cc motorcycle will be charged £37.50 per year (around 10p per day) and an 800cc bike £65. Residents with larger bikes will be able to reduce this further if they can show their bike’s emissions actually place them in a lower price band.

• Charges for zero-emission (e.g. electric) motorcycles will be scrapped entirely. We know there is a lot of scepticism out there about the current capabilities of electric bikes, but with the potential for alternative fuels to replace petrol as well, this secures a future for free motorcycle parking.

SLM’s lawyers strongly advised to accept this settlement, and we agree that it made sense. Had the biking community lost this case, riders in Hackney would be facing much higher, and rising charges. A legal precedent would have been set that Councils have no limit on what they can charge motorcycles for parking.

Even if we’d won the case, there was a chance Hackney Council could have just done it again by restarting the consultation process, which may have been much harder to challenge. We couldn't take that risk, knowing what was at stake, when an offer was on the table.

But that doesn't mean it was an easy decision. We know some may think we got it wrong. The ideal situation would be free parking for all bikes, and while we have achieved that elsewhere in Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow, and Kensington & Chelsea, that was very unlikely to happen here. We knew from talking to riders throughout this campaign that many felt charges around this level would be acceptable, even if it’s not what we’d ideally want.

SLM started our campaign because we saw an existential threat to motorcycling in London with plans to ban all day commuting, crushing motorcycle parking charges of up to £50 per day, and Hackney setting a precedent that motorcycles can be charged the same as cars. That would have been the end of motorcycling in London: together we stopped that.

We believe charging bikes for parking is wrong. We will continue to promote the benefits of free motorcycle parking in all Boroughs, and we have succeeded in many places. But sometimes compromise, in this case weighted in favour of riders, is the only reasonable option.

This outcome has shown councils can't simply ignore us. Together we’ve shown that riders can and will take the fight all the way to the courts if we have to. Other councils that want to bully bikers off the roads by slapping on outrageous parking charges will look at the fight Hackney has had and think twice about whether it’s worth their while.

We’re immensely grateful to all our supporters, and the many organisations who took an interest and offered their help with this case. Your support has been crucial throughout. The fight will continue, together we’ve shown that riders in London won't be pushed around.