Workplace parking levy raises millions for council

New research has revealed council’s parking levy brings in £9m a year, prompting a transport campaign group to recommend other local authorities follow suit.

Nottingham’s Workplace Parking Levy has been held up by the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) as an innovative mechanism for generating income that can be spent on public transport.

Introduced in 2012, the levy is an annual charge paid by employers in the city with more than 10 parking spaces. They pay £334 a year for each space they provide in their workplace car park.

The scheme was criticised in 2013 by Eric Pickles who claimed businesses were passing the costs on to their workers. He also claimed it led to residential areas becoming clogged as employees attempted to avoid the charges.

The annual £9m extra cash from the levy is used, according…