Three-quarters of Nottingham’s businesses have registered for the city council’s workplace parking levy scheme in advance of its introduction on April 1, 2012.

Registration among an estimated 3,500 businesses, which have 11 or more designated employee spaces, should have been completed by October 1, 2011.

However, Nottingham City Council says it will not “run around issuing fines” against the 25% of companies that have failed to register.

Councillor Jane Urquhart said: "We are very encouraged by the number of employers who have engaged with the process and licensed parking places.

"We have been working closely with employers in the city to ensure they have all received as much information as possible to make the licensing process straightforward.

“However, this is the first scheme of its type in the country and there are inevitably going to be some issues which will lead to unintentional non-compliance.

“It's helpful, therefore, that we now have a short period to resolve any difficulties or uncertainty, and ensure these employers are licensed correctly, before charging starts. Compliance officers will be visiting employers who have not licensed their places to understand why this is the case.”

The Workplace Parking Levy, which is a charge on employer and not employees, aims to raise around £14 million a year to support a package of public transport benefits including the extended tram network, the redevelopment of Nottingham's railway station and the subsidised Link Bus network.

Companies qualifying under the scheme face an annual charge of £279 per parking space. It is believed that around 85% of businesses have 10 or fewer spaces and are exempt from the levy.
 

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