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Opposition to Nottingham Workplace Parking Levy
Published: 2009-09-22 09:08:29
The Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) is an idea favoured by the Department of Transport that enables councils to levy a charge on parking spaces provided by employers. The intention is to encourage employees and business visitors to stop using their cars, besides also generating income that would be ring-fenced for improvements in local public transport.
The AA and the British Chambers of Commerce have lobbied strongly against WPL, claiming it could cost over £3 billion if adopted by every English local authority.
So far only one council, Nottingham, has begun the process of introducing a WPL. The proposed Nottingham levy would be £185 per liable space, starting in 2010, and then rising as high as £350 within three years.
Boots UK, the city’s largest private sector employer, employs 7,000 people at its headquarters and provides them with 4,500 parking spaces. Estimating that the WPL would cost the company more than £500,000 a year, Peter Gibson, director of public policy, called the scheme outrageous, the consultation deeply flawed and said: “We will be seeking to challenge this decision and we are calling for an immediate public inquiry”.