LONDON, ENGLAND - A BRITISH city plans to levy an annual fee on businesses that provide staff car parking spaces in what officials said on Tuesday is a previously untried move to cut congestion.
The plan by Nottingham City Council in central England, aimed at boosting use of public transport and cycling, would see 500 of the city's largest employers hit with a 185 pound (S$494) fee for each space.
Smaller firms with 10 or fewer spaces will be exempt from the charge, scheduled to come into force from April 2010.
Council members approved the scheme on Monday. They hope it will raise 5.6 million pounds in the first year and just over 11 million pounds a year by 2015, with the cash spent on improving cycling, bus and tram networks.
A council spokeswoman said the scheme was the first in Britain and they were hoping for formal approval from the government this year.
The initiative is one of a number in British cities to ease traffic gridlock. London and Durham, in north-east England, both charge vehicles a daily rate to enter the city centre.
Plans for a similar congestion charge in the English East Midlands were scrapped last week after cities and councils from the counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire disagreed on its implementation.
The BBC reported on its website that the Nottingham car parking scheme could face a legal challenge from the local chamber of commerce on the grounds that it is not business-friendly. -- AFP
