Drivers face £400 fee to park car at office

BUSINESSES could be charged about £400 a year for every employee who parks their car at work in Bristol.

The opposition Green group on the city council is calling for a workplace parking levy which it says could raise more than £12 million annually to spend on public transport.

A similar scheme has been running in Nottingham for a decade and exempts small firms with fewer than 11 spaces, NHS staff, electric vehicles and disabled badge holders.

The “golden” motion tabled by Bristol’s Greens to a meeting of full council tonight, which is guaranteed to be debated, says these and other exceptions could be introduced in the city.

It says Nottingham collects £9 million per year from the charges, roughly £400 for each private company staff space, and has used the money to double the size of its tram network and fund other sustainable transport.

A Bristol City Council budget amendment by the Greens in February 2020 secured £30,000 for an appraisal report for the scheme but has not yet been produced.

This week’s motion, proposed by Lockleaze Cllr David Wilcox, calls on the Labour administration to publish it and commit to establishing a workplace parking levy, also called a corporate parking levy, if its conclusions are positive, along with a timetable to have it up and running by April 2024.

Cllr Wilcox said the scheme would cut commuting traffic and air pollution.

“It could provide over £12 million each year for Bristol to invest in upgrading our public transport and active travel,” he said.

“This could unlock a huge range of benefits for our city – a network of safe, joined-up bike lanes, cheaper and more frequent buses, in the longer term even funding to develop projects like a tram network.”

Cllr Wilcox said it would require consultation and include a range of exemptions to limit any harmful impact.

Ashley Green Cllr Tim Wye, who is seconding the motion, said: “Bristol’s transport system isn’t working for anybody.

“Before the pandemic, the average rush-hour driver in Bristol spent over six days each year waiting in traffic.

“It’s great that a Clean Air Zone will finally be coming next year, after years of delays, but on its own a CAZ won’t revolutionise our transport or reduce much traffic, it is just one of a raft of measures needed that work together to tackle our problems with air pollution and traffic.”

The issue will be discussed tonight.