Birmingham reveals plans to introduce Workplace Parking Levy

Businesses in Birmingham could face paying a Workplace Parking Levy that would see them shell out £500 a year for private parking spaces.

The plans by Birmingham City Council are still in their infancy, but a council cabinet report says the move could land it up to £7m a year in additional revenues while the city needs to “move away from an over-reliance on cars”.

Nottingham is the only other city in the UK to have the Workplace Parking Levy, having introduced it in 2012. So far it has raised over £50m through the scheme.

Birmingham City Council papers show their is “little evidence” to show the move has affected economic growth in Nottingham.

However, the move would not be without its critics.

Birmingham Chambers of Commerce told the BBC that the levy would “added to businesses’ woes”, while the the RAC added: “It’s a tax on people actually going to work – almost certainly businesses will pass that cost on to employees.”

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) comes into force in January 2020, when some motorists will be charged between £6 and £10 a day to drive into the city centre.

If Birmingham City Council’s Workplace Parking Levy is passed it will come into force in 2024.