CONSERVATIVE think-tank proposals to tax company parking provision as a means of reducing urban pollution and congestion will not hit businesses in greenfield locations.

The controversial proposals from the Tory Reform Group - leaked in a draft manifesto document - drew fire from Conservative right-wingers for being more left-wing than Labour. But TRG members said the national newspapers had misreported the proposals and have clarified their position on the taxation of company car parking spaces.

The TRG is due to publish its manifesto - New Policies for a New Century - next month and a spokesman said much of the content of the leaked draft version had since changed. Report author and member of the TRG executive Nick Kent said the final draft still had to be approved by his colleagues before submission to Conservative party chiefs for consideration.