Councillors in Nottingham have just made the bold decision to back the introduction of a workplace parking levy in the city in order to help fund public transport improvements.Environmentalists and transport campaigners will be hoping that Nottingham’s example sets a precedent for others to follow. Milton Keynes has already expressed an interest in workplace parking levies and with public finances succumbing to increasing pressures, other councils will also be watching Nottingham with interest.
Nottingham City Council has rebutted accusations that imposing new financial burdens on local businesses is economic suicide by imposing a two-year delay on the scheme so it won’t be until 2012 that employers have to cough up the charge. Notwithstanding this caveat, backing the levy is a brave move. Introducing new taxes is never going to be popular. In a recession it could seem foolhardy, especially when it runs up against the vociferous motoring lobby and an embattled business sector.
Earlier in the year, council leaders in Greater Manchester played it safe by rejecting proposals to introduce a workplace parking levy in the city-region. Parking levies may be a less contentious way of raising funds for public transport improvements than congestion charging but there still appears to be little public appetite for such schemes and I suspect that many councils will be happy to sit back and watch the drama unfold in Nottingham before putting their own cards on the table.
Even in Nottingham the battle is not over. The future of the workplace parking levy isn’t guaranteed - the Tory-run County Council administration has already publicly stated its opposition to the scheme. Conservatives members at the City Council also voted against the levy and should they take control of the city at the next election the scheme could be scuppered. Transport campaigners may be wise to to hold off on the champagne for now.
