Proposals for a workplace parking levy and a supplementary business rate have been ruled out as alternatives to congestion charging in Greater Manchester.
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has rejected both ideas following December’s referendum vote by the public to bin congestion charging, which would have brought a £3bn transport boost through the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).
Trafford Council leader, Susan Williams, said: ‘There has already been a lot of concern expressed by the chamber of commerce.
‘In the current economic climate, a workplace parking charge just would not work, and supplementary business rates should be dismissed unless the business community comes forward and says it wants them.’
But Manchester City Council leader, Sir Richard Leese, warned: ‘If we do want to have major transport improvements, at some point in the future we are going to have to have a debate about how we are going to find the money.
‘And, at some point, the residents of Greater Manchester will not be able to duck the issue either.’ Legislation is going through Parliament which would allow a supplement of up to 2p in the pound on business rates on properties with a rateable value of more than £50,000. A report by Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said the total potential annual income from the rate would be around £38M in 2010, rising to £45M a year by 2015.
The report adds that a small-scale workplace parking levy, charging £185 a year at first and covering 17,000 spaces in Manchester city centre, could generate around £4.4M a year by 2015. It would be a charge on the employer, who would then decide whether to pass it on. A similar scheme is being planned in Nottingham.
The leaders accepted the setting up of a ‘Greater Manchester Transport Fund’ from all available sources, and said such a fund would have a potential buying power of about £935M by 2018 – less than half of the £2.8bn which would have been available under the TIF scheme. Meanwhile, transport minister, Lord Adonis, has quashed any lingering hopes that Greater Manchester could still get a share of TIF.
‘The people have spoken, and in a democracy, there is nothing more powerful than a referendum result,’ he said.
‘This wasn’t a game which offered rewards for effort. This was an agreement about a whole package.’ But, he added: ‘That doesn’t mean to say some individual components may not go ahead with funds from another source.’
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