West Midlands congestion charge plan returns

Transport bosses want to cut the number of cars in Birmingham city centre by 200,000 a year in order to offset an expected surge in vehicles from population growth by 2031.

Proposals already put forward by Birmingham City Council include taxing businesses for parking spaces for their staff. The move would copy Nottingham which imposes a £334 charge per parking space for car parks with 11 spaces or more.

If congestion charging is taken forward it could be forced on people first before they vote in a referendum on whether or not to scrap it. The idea was used in Stockholm in Sweden.

The council is leading an inquiry on behalf of the seven authorities of the West Midlands - including Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall, Coventry and Solihull.

London-style congestion charging was abandoned for the West Midlands in 2008 after councils realised it would not be possible to get business backing for such a scheme and that it would be difficult to implement.

But in a draft report setting out a 20-year vision for improving transport in Birmingham, the idea is mooted again.

Last year the councils received a £150,000 grant to research the introduction of 'low emission zones'.

In the Birmingham Mobility Action Plan, Birmingham City Council writes: "Another available policy tool could be to directly charge road users.

"There are many different ways a scheme of this type could be brought forward.

"At one end of the scale there could be a wholesale change in the way that we all pay for road use which would be led from a national government.

"Other forms of charging could be collected at a local level and include schemes similar to those operating in London and Stockholm. This debate has been in the public eye as recently as 2008 when the government funded a series of studies into the feasibility of road pricing in urban areas.

"The high profile cases were in Manchester and Edinburgh where local referendums failed to convince voters of the benefits. Despite these public opinion setbacks there is a strong evidence base that fair and equitable schemes are possible and that there are significant benefits to be gained. Benefits both from

generating revenue for transport infrastructure; but also to society and local economies from reductions in car use."

The council has been looking at Stockholm in Sweden where a public vote was promised 'but only after a trial scheme had been in for a period of time'.

The council added: "It was felt that only then could people make an informed choice as to whether the scheme benefited or disbenefited them personally. The scheme was voted in by users, turning around a negative opinion before the trial.

On charging for workplace parking, the council expects it could make as much as £8 million a year.

But the idea of congestion charging does not have the backing of council leaders.

Sandwell Council's leader Councillor Darren Cooper said: "I don't think the answer is to hit motorists again. I'm not in favour of parking charges either, but we have to have them to pay for the wardens.

"I've just announced £9 million worth of new buses for Sandwell and I think it's incentives like this that make the difference, not hitting motorists and businesses."

And Dudley's leader Councillor David Sparks, chairman of the Local Government Association, added: "Congestion charging like the London scheme is totally impractical for places like Dudley and the Black Country where boundaries are all over the place. I can't see it being applied in the Black Country."

A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: "Birmingham acknowledges that certain areas of the city exceed the air quality limit value for nitrogen dioxide. This is an ongoing state of affairs. The primary source is emissions from road traffic with diesel vehicles providing the greatest contribution - and these road transport emissions are reported to account for 630 premature deaths each year in the West Midlands.

"Birmingham has an Air Quality Action Plan in place which seeks to achieve a reduction in emissions. This is supported by the emerging Birmingham Development Plan and the Birmingham Mobility Action Plan which will set out a long term vision for sustainable transport in the city. The objectives of these will be delivered through closer working between departments and joint working with external partners including the regional transport authority and the surrounding boroughs.

"Furthermore, there are various funding streams commencing which offer vital monies to actually provide for cleaner vehicles or develop new technologies through local trials. Birmingham is looking to explore these avenues."