If you drive to work, you could be forced to pay to park there in the near future, as local authorities are considering implementing workplace parking levies (WPL).
Currently, only businesses in Nottingham are charged a yearly fee (£458 per space for car parks with more than 10 spaces) and have been for the last decade or so. However, other areas are now considering introducing similar schemes.
Earlier this month, the Scottish government introduced legislation allowing councils to bring in the charge, with Glasgow City Council among the authorities that have expressed an early interest. Meanwhile, a consultation launched by Leicester City Council seeking views on a WPL in the city has recently closed.
According to Leicester councillor Adam Clarke, the deputy city mayor responsible for environment and transportation, there are three main reasons why the council is pursuing the scheme.
“We’ve got a huge challenge in terms of city growth, there’s the health impact that comes from pollution and there’s also the climate emergency and our obligations to decarbonise transport,” he explained.
“We’re not anti-car; it’s about choosing the right mode for each journey and also reducing congestion so those who do need to use cars have an easy trip."
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The consultation was launched earlier this year as part of a manifesto pledge that was first made in 2019. However, since then, working patterns have changed with more people working from home than before as a result of the pandemic, but Clarke still believes a WPL is required to reduce traffic levels.
“What we’ve seen is that while the peak times are slightly flatter, congestion levels [are] returning to normal since the end of lockdown. The city projection growth over the next 10 years means that it isn’t going to be easy to manage congestion,” he said.
Should a WPL be introduced, all revenue has to be ringfenced for improvements to public-transport services.
Nottingham’s tram system has been extended using money generated from its scheme.
Councillor Rosemary Healy, portfolio holder for transport, extolled the benefits of a WPL: “Nottingham has among the highest public-transport use in the country outside London. The WPL has had a 47% constraining effect on congestion growth that's saving businesses £5.5 million per year and the council £11m per year, as well as saving 7840 tonnes of carbon emissions to the benefit of the environment and residents’ health.”
She added: “No businesses have left Nottingham due to the WPL and many have invested here in the knowledge they may have to pay it. There was early resistance from some in the business community to the idea of the WPL, but we've had 100% compliance from day one, and the WPL is highly efficient to operate.”
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If the intention is that in Leicester "what we're proposing is that every car journey and commute will be as if it is during the school holidays" doesn't that imply that people taking children to school by car is the problem?
My other comment is that if future expansion is expected to increase congestion, then the S106 / Community Infrastructure Levy money should be used to pay for the required public transport infrastructure.
All that will happen is people will park on the roads and then walk to their office from there. bloody stupid
I live 11 miles from work (office is on the edge of a city). Takes me 30 mins to drive. NO buses go directly, I'd have to take 3 buses via the city centre and 97 mins each way!! If the local council offers a decent alternative then I'd happily take it or pay to park. But when no other realistic option exists... and you can almost guarantee the coucil office spaces will be exempt or they will put up council tax to pay themselves to park!