Leicester scraps workplace parking levy plans
Plans to introduce a workplace parking levy in Leicester have been dropped, the City Council has announced.
A consultation on the proposals held in the spring generated more than 4,000 written responses.
However, the authority says the current political and economic climate has made it “impossible to proceed” with the plan.
It added that its long-term commitment to improving public transport in the city – part of its rationale for proposing the levy – “remains the same.”
Transport improvements in Leicester over the last few years include the formation of the Leicester Buses Partnership, the expansion of the city’s fleet of all-electric buses and investment in the country’s first net zero carbon bus station at St Margaret’s.
Deputy City Mayor Cllr Adam Clarke said: “We made a commitment in 2019 to consult on a levy in Leicester, and at that time we could not foresee the political uncertainty and dire economic situation the country is facing today. We have concluded that we cannot implement a WPL during this ongoing national cost-of-living crisis, which is causing such uncertainty and concern for so many people and businesses in our city.
“The consequence of this of course is that we won’t have the funding needed to radically improve public transport for so many of our residents, which would in turn help to tackle the climate emergency. In truth, simply maintaining the current levels of service will be a huge challenge.”
He added: “We would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation. We also met with many local business, school, NHS and trades union leaders, to listen to the views of those they employ or represent, and we are grateful for their input.
“I am particularly grateful for the input from transport and environmental campaigners and want to reassure them that we will continue to focus on cleaning the air and reducing Leicester’s carbon footprint.”
The news comes as the council prepares to increase its parking charges for the first time in eight years.
Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “We have made enormous improvements in Leicester in recent years thanks to successful bids for funding that we have had to compete for against other local authorities. However, our long-term aims require significant and reliable ongoing funding that is not currently available.
“We can only hope that before too long there will be a Government in place that will have the vision to transform public transport in this country, and will provide the funds to do it.
“As it stands, severe Government spending restrictions already in place mean we have a shortfall in our budget of many tens of millions, and it’s likely the Chancellor will announce further cuts to public services in November. This means we will be taking difficult decisions on all council services including transport over the next few months.
“In the meantime we need to continue to raise funding to support our existing public transport facilities, tackle the climate emergency and carry out improvements where we can, and that is why we are taking the decision today to increase our car parking charges for the first time in eight years.
“We also need to look at how we can increase passenger numbers and reduce the large subsidies being given to some bus services, including park and ride, which have been severely affected by the pandemic.”
