Parking at Work

Some lunacy from Nottingham City Council

Nottingham is so far the only local authority to announce plans to introduce workplace parking levies.

Under the scheme employers with more than 10 spaces will be charged £253 a year from 2012, with the bill set to rise to £350 within two years.

So, someone with an office with 10 spaces will have to pay £3500/year for the privilege of parking inside Nottingham rather than 5 miles outside of the city. You could charge £50/year/staff member and people would begrudgingly pay it. But at £350/year, relocating out of the borough will be a no-brainer.

And why do they need this money?

The money raised will fund part of the city's tram extension, refurbishment of its railway station and bus network - but it has come under fire from local employers and motorists.

We ditched trams earlier in the century because buses do a much better job. Anything a tram can do, a bus can do better. You can reroute them quickly, and because they're non-proprietary, you get competition (unlike trams where you're locked into a supplier).

And why is Nottingham funding the refurbishment of its railway station? Get the railways to cough up for it.

Of course, I'm sure that Nottingham won't cut their 5 twin towns.