Expert view on city's congestion

The future of transport in Nottingham is being discussed by a leading expert at a special meeting in the city.

Former chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport, Professor David Begg, will talk about getting motorists to change their travel behaviour.

Nottingham City Council wants to introduce a workplace parking levy in preference to a congestion charge.

Professor Begg said radical action was needed to deal with the problem which was damaging the city's economy.

'Drag on businesses'

He said good public transport on its own would not tackle traffic congestion.

"It's not enough just to improve public transport, you've actually got to make it less attractive for people to travel by car into city centres.

"The biggest drag on businesses in our cities has been congestion - that's the biggest transport constraint on the future economic development of our cities.

"If we don't go down this radical line then congestion is just going to continue to increase."

If approved, a workplace parking tax could be introduced in 2010.

Fair system

The city council said a levy will bring congestion benefits in a way that is more simple, fair and better targeted at commuters than Road User Charging.

The proposed levy would apply to businesses with 10 or more spaces and the initial annual charge would be £185 per space from the year 2010, rising to £350 by 2014.

The council has said money raised from the tax would help make £12m to develop Nottingham's tram system.

The Department for Transport is expected to rule in the next few weeks on whether Nottingham City Council can go ahead with the plan.