Edward has written to the Labour Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby, calling on him to rethink his plans to impose a Workplace Parking Tax, given the negative impact such a plan would have on residents of villages neighbouring, Leicester, and who travel in to the city for work. In his letter to the City Mayor Edward writes:
”My significant concerns about the new workplace tax revolve around a number of linked issues. While I believe everyone would in principle support measures to improve air quality, the environment, and to tackle congestion, I fear this new tax would not achieve that aim, but would instead see the City Council imposing a significant additional burden to businesses (and indeed schools etc), at a time when there are already rising cost pressures on them, and that that cost could be passed on to their staff again, at a time when we are seeing considerable rises in the cost of living, so I question why the City Council believes this is the right time to impose a very large tax increase (and at a rate significantly higher than Nottingham City Council) on businesses, and effectively jobs, for their employees to get to work?…..I would also be grateful if you could set out what measures the City Council proposes to put in place to ensure that people travelling in to the city to work, but as a result of these plans may find themselves unable to park at work, do not simply park their cars in nearby villages such as Birstall, Thurmaston, Anstey or Glenfield, and then simply travel in by bus, but in so doing potentially causing significant traffic congestion and parking issues in those villages?…”
