Councillors vote to delay calls for a workplace parking levy

A charge on company car parking spaces is unlikely to be introduced in Bristol any time soon following a council vote.

The Greens tabled a motion calling for a workplace parking levy, saying the scheme in Nottingham – the only one in the country – has doubled the tram network, ploughed millions of pounds into public transport and improved air quality.

But an amendment by Labour at a full council meeting on Tuesday night removing the requirement for Bristol City Council to bring it in was backed by the Conservatives after both parties criticised the fees as a “tax” that firms could pass on to staff.

The watered-down proposal said it would be “negligent” of the local authority to introduce it without knowing how much it would raise and that an appraisal report should be produced before any decisions are even considered.

Members initially voted by a single vote, 33-32, in favour of the amendment, with the Lib Dems joining Greens to oppose it before it was approved unanimously as the replacement main motion.

David Wilcox, a Green councillor for Lockleaze who proposed the original idea, said afterwards: “I’m really disappointed that Labour and Conservatives voted to weaken our motion, which would use a levy on large businesses staff parking to fund transport upgrades our city desperately needs.

“By amending our motion to refer action back to the administration I’m afraid that this fantastic policy could be kicked down the road.”

Tim Wye, a Green councillor for Ashley ward, said: “We supported the amended motion in the end as, despite Labour’s motion undermining it, it still calls for the administration to report back to full council on the appraisal reports findings and hopefully produce a delivery timetable.

“So I’m pleased that this motion has put the matter firmly on the agenda.”

Labour cabinet member for transport Don Alexander told the City Hall meeting: “We are tabling this amendment because it would be wrong to commit to a tax rise in a public forum without consulting the public or knowing the costs or benefits.

“We don’t know how much money it would raise, we don’t know who would be exempt, we don’t know the area it would cover and we don’t know the administration costs.

“Let’s do proper studies, consult people and then consider it. We have nothing to gain but a lot to lose by jumping the gun.”

He said teachers were charged £428 a year under Nottingham’s scheme, while care home workers could also face the fees.

Geoff Gollop, a Tory councillor for Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze, said it would be a tax that would “punish” businesses and force them out of the city.

“If we follow this policy, we will end up with fewer jobs in Bristol and more jobs in our neighbouring authorities,” he told members.

Lib Dem Andrew Brown said: “Labour’s response, as outlined in this amendment, is not so much to kick the idea into the long grass but to check it into a long-haul flight with no return ticket.”

He said the cost of a Clean Air Zone, being introduced next year, on the most vulnerable would be five times that of a parking levy, so arguments on costs to key workers were weak.

Labour’s amendment said the appraisal findings would be reported back to full council and “if the administration sees fit, to publish a delivery timetable”.

It said: “Full council notes that a workplace parking levy would be imposed on organisations with car parking spaces, it could include schools, care homes, and colleges and would create extra costs which they may choose to pass on to others.

“The imposition of a new tax on the citizens and businesses of Bristol needs to be given due consideration and treated with gravitas.

“Agreeing to a new tax without knowing how much it would raise nor what the potential benefits of it would be negligent on the part of Bristol City Council.”

A Lib Dem amendment calling for more concrete commitments, including ring-fencing levy funds for sustainable transport, was also defeated by 33-32 along the same party lines.

Main photo by Pixabay (courtesy of LDR wire)

Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol 

Read more: Workplace parking levy could generate millions to invest in public transport

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