Firms may be charged up to £1,250 per parking space

A city council has outlined how a citywide workplace levy, which would see employers have to pay a licence to have parking, could be introduced.

Bristol City Council is considering the move which, if implemented, would make it only the second city in the UK to enforce a workplace levy, following Nottingham.

Charges could potentially range anywhere between £600 and £1,250 per space, per year. A public consultation is expected in the autumn.

Business West, which represent employers in Bristol, said the further tax would negatively impact businesses that already face "significant cost pressures".

"Bristol is already a place where the cost of doing business is much higher than other cities", said Sauri Walker, policy lead at Business West.

She said some employers are already struggling with increases to National Insurance, energy costs and business rates, in recent years.

"Another tax undermines the economic attractiveness and harms the employment base of the city," she added.

The proposed workplace levy would be operated through a permit-style licensing scheme.

It would mean employers would be required to obtain a licence for any liable workplace parking places on their premises.

Bristol's transport and connectivity committee has published its report outlining various options which will form a public consultation in the autumn, following approval on Thursday.

The main thing councillors will eventually need to decide on is how widely they should implement a workplace levy.

One option could see it applied only within the city's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) area, while another option could see it expanded to capture the whole of the city centre.

Alternatively, a citywide levy could be introduced "to maximise revenue potential", Bristol City Council said.

Charges could vary depending on how many parking spaces an employer owns and where they are located within the city.

For example, if a citywide levy was introduced, an employer in the CAZ boundary could be charged more than one outside the city centre.

The council said it is also recommending only applying the licensing fee to employers with five or more spaces.

It is currently considering charging rates of between £600 and £1,250 which would be applied per parking space, per year.

It would mean a cost per working day of anywhere between £1.30 and £5.43 per space.

Exemptions and discounts would be considered to protect vulnerable groups and essential services, the council said.

That could include, similarly to Nottingham, disabled parking spaces, NHS sites, customer and visitor parking and fleet vehicles.

Schools and education providers would also be able to apply for exemptions or discounts.

At the heart of a possible workplace levy is more money for the city's coffers.

In its report, Bristol City Council said if implemented, the levy could generate several million pounds per year.

It added, the money would be a "ring-fenced and locally controlled funding source for transport investment", meaning it could only be used to improve transport in the city.

That would include measures to reduce congestion and improve accessibility, and "bus-focused interventions", it said.

Although, the report stopped short of detailing what those interventions would entail.

The council also said the levy would help reduce congestion by discouraging commuters from driving into the city, and instead take up public transport, walking and cycling.

But Walker said many of the city's workers have no choice but to drive to work.

"A significant proportion of Bristol's workforce still relies on driving to work, often because there is no practical alternative," she said.

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