Nottingham City Council has announced key changes to its workplace parking levy during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Workplace Parking Levy is a charge on employers who provide workplace parking.
Nottingham City Council said it introduced the levy to tackle problems associated with traffic congestion, by providing funding for transport infrastructure and by acting as an incentive for employers to manage their workplace parking provision.
The controversial levy is applied to all employees with 11 or more car parking spaces in the city centre, with a charge of more than £400 per year per space.
Money raised from the WPL helped to fund extensions to the existing tram system, as well as the redevelopment of Nottingham Station.
But as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the authority has announced two key changes to the levy.
The council has waived the usual month’s notice needed before changes can be made to the number of licensed places.
This was done to allowed business which have far fewer, if any, staff on site to license only for the number of workplace parking places they are providing in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The council said it is also supporting businesses over the coming weeks and months if circumstances have changed.
Councillor Adele Williams, portfolio holder for local transport at Nottingham City Council, added:“Secondly, to support companies with staff classed as key workers, we won’t require any additional places to be licensed which have become necessary over the past few weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak.
"These employers should licence the same number of workplace parking places as they provided in 2019/20.
“We understand that the coronavirus outbreak has had a huge impact on everyone’s day-to-day lives across the city.
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"Many employees have been working from home, while key workers continue to keep vital services running.
“The original Government advice to remain at home where possible coincided with the next financial year of the Workplace Parking Levy, so we have introduced some changes to make things a little easier for companies who provide workplace parking."
The chairman of A.W. Lymn - Nigel Lymn Rose - had called on the council to make key workers exempt from the levy when the council made the temporary changes.
The cost per workplace parking space per year for the licensing period April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, is £424 for employers who provide 11 or more liable places.
Scott Knowles, Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber, told Nottinghamshire Live: “We welcome any flexibility, which reflects temporary new ways of working, to allow businesses to manage their cost bases more effectively at this time of significant challenge.”
The city council added any other employers requiring advice or assistance on licensing, or understanding what these changes mean, should email wpl@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or call 0115 876 5050.
