Fury as bankrupt council mulls CHARGING drivers to use free company parking spaces
A BANKRUPT council is considering charging drivers to use their free company parking spaces.
The proposals would lead to staff facing bills of hundreds of pounds a year.
The workplace parking levy in Croydon, South London, would be imposed on businesses with 11 or more privately owned spaces.
Bosses would then choose whether to pay it — or pass the cost on to staff.
The scheme is intended to reduce the use of private vehicles and get more people cycling or walking to work.
But Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Croydon should park this preposterous policy.
“Bankrupt Croydon is scrambling for cash through council tax rises and now new taxes on private companies.
“Instead of squeezing businesses they should scrap wasteful spending if they want to fix their finances.”
Croydon council, which went bankrupt for the third time in 2022 with debts of £1.6billion, would spend the revenue on improving public transport to increase options for commuters.
Other authorities said to be looking at introducing WPL schemes include Leicester, Reading, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cambridge, Bristol and Oxford.
So far Nottingham is the only city to have done so, with an annual charge of £415 a parking space a year.
The scheme has generated about £90million in 12 years since launch — with the money helping to build two tram line extensions.
Last year, we revealed that Croydon council had spent thousands on useless CCTV cameras to catch motorists using rat runs near schools.
The equipment from a US supplier proved incompatible with British number plates.
Croydon council said: “The council is not committing to the workplace parking levy and it is not included in our current parking policy.”