Nottingham City Council is trialling automatic number plate recognition technology to enforce its workplace parking levy.
The move has come under criticism from Nottingham businesses after the council admitted there have been no fines issued in the past year. The levy was introduced on 1 April 2012.
Employers in Nottingham that provide 11 or more workplace parking places are required to get a WPL licence and, where applicable, pay a £362 annual charge per space. The charge will increase to £379 from 1 April 2015.
The ANPR camera will initially be set up at Riverside Retail Park to check businesses are complying with the levy. If the trial proves successful there are plans to introduce up to six more cameras across the city.
A spokesman for Nottingham City Council said using ANPR technology will be a more efficient way of enforcing the levy in comparison to the current method, which involves parking enforcement officers monitoring cars with a portable camera.
Nottingham charged for 25,000 spaces in 2013 and said the money it brought in is being used to improve public transport, including extensions of Nottingham’s tram lines, and to help buy electric buses. Businesses talking to the Nottingham Post have described the levy as a “tax”.
Bristol City Council was looking to introduce a similar workplace parking level but the idea was scrapped in 2012 after it ruled it would be too harmful to local businesses. Both Manchester and Birmingham have also rejected plans to introduce a congestion charge after overwhelming opposition from motorists and businesses.
