Workplace parking levy could charge firms £750 a year per car space

Commuter journeys make up 12 per cent of daily car trips in London
Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Businesses could be charged at least £750 a year for each of their employee workplace car spaces under plans being considered by town halls in London.

London Councils, the parent body for 32 boroughs and the Square Mile, is pressing ahead with plans for a “workplace parking levy” to help local authorities improve air quality and encourage people to use other ways of travelling.

Commuter journeys make up 12 per cent of daily car trips, a third of which are three miles or less and “could be walked or cycled”, the organisation said. It is proposed that the fees, under an annual licence, would be imposed on companies by Transport for London or councils.

London Councils said Mayor Sadiq Khan, who would have to sign off each scheme, would “expect an initial minimum charge rate of £750 per year” but advises councils to “consider setting a charge higher than this”.

Hounslow is believed to be the first borough to propose a workplace parking levy and wants to charge up to £1,000 for every space within 1,000 metres of the Crossrail station at Southall to fund a new rail link.

London Councils said the “charge is levied on employers, with no requirement for them to pass the charges on to their employees”.

The body said the “legal basis” for the rules comes from the GLA Act, allowing boroughs and TfL to impose charges based on the number of spaces for staff and visitors. However, it could mean a triple tax on some drivers, already hit by C-Charge and Ultra-Low Emission Zone fees.

Discounts and exemptions are planned for small businesses, tech start-ups, blue badge holders and for electric vehicles.

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