Every commuter driving to work faces being charged up to £350 to park their car if the Government gives the go ahead to a controversial new scheme, Britain's leading business lobby group warns.

 

Nottingham City Council aims to become the first authority to introduce the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL), with at least eight other councils ready to follow its lead.

 

However, the scheme faces fierce resistance from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Chamber of Commerce, which warned that if Nottingham gets the go ahead from the Department of Transport, it will give the green light to every council in the country to charge workers.

 

Nottingham Council wants to tax employers who provide more than 10 workplace parking spaces, in privately-owned car parks or spaces paid for in public car parks, and is waiting for the Government to give it the green light to introduce the scheme in 2010.

 

The 500 or so businesses affected would have to decide whether to pass on the charge to their employees.

 

The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, along with the CBI, is launching a high profile campaign STOP the Workplace Parking Levy to prevent the scheme getting off the ground.

 

Paul Southby, CBI East Midlands director, said: "As far as we are concerned, it will not help congestion, will not pay for the schemes the council thinks it will and places businesses hit by the levy at an unfair advantage, locally, nationally and internationally.

 

"If there is to be a road charging scheme, it should be a joined up national scheme. Councils should not be allowed to introduce their own projects, and in doing so put their own businesses at a disadvantage.

 

"Some of the larger businesses in Nottingham have complained it will hit their bottom line by £1 million, which is a huge amount given the economic climate."

 

For each liable parking space, Nottingham City Council plans to impose an annual tax of £185, rising to £350 within four years of its planned implementation in 2010. From then the tax will be linked to inflation.

 

If ministers ratfiy the scheme, all businesses with company parking in Nottingham will have to apply for a licence whether they qualify for the charge or not. Enforcement is likely to come from CCTV cameras, spot checks and number plate registration systems.

 

Exemptions are expected for disabled parking, motorcycles, display vehicles on a forecourt, deliveries and fleet or pool vehicles not used for commuting.

The council said it will put the money raised towards extending Nottingham's tram system, improving bus services and redeveloping its railway station.

 

Jon Collins, the council leader, said: "Forecasts tell us that car use is set to increase, congestion levels will get much worse and, ultimately, over the next 20 years, oil production is going to peak. Any city that does not plan to meet these challenges is not planning ahead for sustainable growth. Future generations will thank us."

 

George Cowcher, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire chamber's chief executive, said: "It's clear that a precedent might be set and if it is, businesses across the country will have to dig deep in their pockets to pay the levy. Let's make it clear - Nottingham's so-called blueprint for future transport income generation will cost jobs and it will force businesses to rethink their situations.

 

"Cutting through the rhetoric, it's a tax on jobs and competitiveness, which is unpopular both with businesses and workers alike, and comes at a time when we are seeing the worst trading conditions in decades."

 

The AA said the scheme was "another motoring tax that could deter companies from locating in the city".

 

Source: Sunday Telegraph

dumb idea... itll simply increase wage demands to cover for the cost.

If you get an interest-free loan for a season ticket from your employer, you get taxed on it. Therefore, it would be consistent to tax free car-parking as well. If they are to be treated differently, it would make more sense to tax the parking space but not the loan to encourage greater use of public transport.

If you get an interest-free loan for a season ticket from your employer, you get taxed on it. Therefore, it would be consistent to tax free car-parking as well. If they are to be treated differently, it would make more sense to tax the parking space but not the loan to encourage greater use of public transport.

 

nah... upping parking prices will not put more people on public transport because a) they dont like it and B) public transport rarely goes near your place of employment.

They should make people walk to work! At my first job after leaving schooling full time I walked about 17 miles there and 17 back!

 

Norma

If there's demand for public transport then the links will be increased - or works can put on link buses between train stations and the office. Car culture (particularly in my home city of Aberdeen) has reached ridiculous levels leading to massive traffic tailbacks every morning and evening where hundreds of cars, each carrying the driver alone, trundle on their way.

 

I'm all for this if it's being done for the right reasons.

They should make people walk to work! At my first job after leaving schooling full time I walked about 17 miles there and 17 back!

 

Norma

 

sorry but i dont believe you... the average human walks at 3 mph, that would take you nearly 6 hours ... both ways!

 

even at a trot of 5 mph itd take you over 3 hours!

 

or was this levity as in the monty python sketch of the yorkshire men 'luxury!...., we lived in a puddle ' type way?

sorry but i dont believe you... the average human walks at 3 mph, that would take you nearly 6 hours ... both ways!

 

even at a trot of 5 mph itd take you over 3 hours!

 

or was this levity as in the monty python sketch of the yorkshire men 'luxury!...., we lived in a puddle ' type way?

 

Every word is true! I just trot very, very quickly!

 

Norma

Every word is true! I just trot very, very quickly!

 

Norma

 

nah.... even if you ran it would take you 2 hours each way... a 2 hour run followed by an 8 hour shift followed by another 2 hour run 5 days a week?... :lol:

 

hell it would have taken roger banister 68 minutes doing 17 consecutive 4 minute miles! :lol: and he collapsed after 1 !!!

 

todays world record for the womens half marathon (13 miles) is

 

Half Marathon 1:06:25 Lornah Kiplagat

 

and you reckon you walked 17 miles back in the 70's in what time? pmsl

 

17 miles my arse!

nah.... even if you ran it would take you 2 hours each way... a 2 hour run followed by an 8 hour shift followed by another 2 hour run 5 days a week?... :lol:

 

hell it would have taken roger banister 68 minutes doing 17 consecutive 4 minute miles! :lol: and he collapsed after 1 !!!

 

todays world record for the womens half marathon (13 miles) is

 

Half Marathon 1:06:25 Lornah Kiplagat

 

and you reckon you walked 17 miles back in the 70's in what time? pmsl

 

17 miles my arse!

 

No not on my arse (or your arse even) on my feet! You've not met me have you? My friends don't call me Nijinsky for nothing! And I don't mean the ballet dancer!

 

Norma

 

nah... upping parking prices will not put more people on public transport because a) they dont like it and B) public transport rarely goes near your place of employment.

So use the money from taxing parking spaces to provide a bus service to places of work.

So use the money from taxing parking spaces to provide a bus service to places of work.

 

..... but then no one would park and there would be no income to provide the bus service! :wacko:

 

besides that totally impractical... workers live all over the place and would take ages to pick everyone up.

besides that totally impractical... workers live all over the place and would take ages to pick everyone up.

 

I alredy said this...works put on a link from the nearest bus stop / train station and workers get there under their own steam - a two part journey.

I alredy said this...works put on a link from the nearest bus stop / train station and workers get there under their own steam - a two part journey.

 

itll never work... who wants a lengthy 2/3 part public journey? for eg clare gets to work in 15 mins in her warm, dry, car whilst using public transport it takes 35 (taking into account waiting for a bus) she has to wait outside in whatever the weather throws at us, cold, wet, cramped buses....

Each to their own.

 

Every day I walk 15 minutes to the train station, take a 10 minute train and walk 15 minutes to work. Before that I spent the same length of time stuck in a huge traffic bottleneck, ambling along at an average speed of about 4mph.

 

Selling the car and taking public transport was one of the best things I ever did.