• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Tuesday September 17 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Bristol commuters could be charged for staff parking under new scheme

A new scheme that aims to charge Bristol businesses that provide free parking for staff is starting to meet with opposition.

Last week Bristol City Council’s transport and connectivity committee approved spending up to £1 million to draw up an outline business case for the Workplace Levy.

Under the scheme, workplaces that provide free parking for staff would be charged for those spaces – with £20 per space per week being mooted.

It would be up to businesses whether to pass the cost on to employees, or swallow the cost themselves.

The Green Party, which is now the biggest party on Bristol City Council, has revived the plan it first proposed in 2023 – which was shelved by Labour.

Money collected from the levy – which could be £10 million a year – would be ring-fenced to pay for sustainable transport schemes.

But opponents say some of the lowest-paid workers in the city would be among the 9,000 people adversely affected.

Bristol hoteliers have now added their voice to the opposition.

The Bristol Hoteliers Association – which back in July was praising the Green Party for its support of the hospitality industry – says the plans are yet another blow to the long-term recovery of their businesses, which have been struggling thanks to a combination of the impact of Brexit, the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis.

Chair Raphael Herzog said: “This would be yet another challenge for BHA members in the city centre.

“The nature of our business means we have staff making very early starts and very late finishes, when access to alternative forms of getting to and from work is limited.

“Earlier this year, we were hit with having to take on the costs of the increased national wage and this feels like another blow to our businesses, which the city council should be supporting.

“Of course, we understand the importance of reducing carbon emissions to improve the air quality in the city centre and to cut congestion.

“But to encourage people to leave their cars at home, there have to be viable and efficient alternatives, available to the travellers when they are needed.”

When councillors met to discuss the scheme last Thursday (September 12) Labour tabled an amendment to protect key workers and disabled drivers from the scheme.

The workplace levy is part of a wider scheme that would see changes to free short stops in residents’ parking zones and changes to tariffs in the city’s public car parks.

However, Green Party national co-leader and Bristol Central MP Carla Denyer told the BBC’s Politics West on Sunday “The lowest income people in our city generally don’t have cars. Providing free car parking is a subsidy to better-paid employees when (companies) are not giving free bus tickets to their cleaners.”

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