Drivers face being hit with new workplace parking charges as councils across England and Wales draw up plans for levies previously backed by Andy Burnham.

Almost a dozen cash-strapped local authorities are looking at introducing Workplace Parking Levies (WPLs), prompting warnings that more councils could turn to the charges as they search for extra income.

The scheme would see businesses charged for parking spaces provided to staff, with critics claiming the cost could ultimately be passed on to workers through additional charges, reduced benefits or smaller pay rises.

The row has intensified after Labour-run Cardiff Council approved plans that could see employers charged up to £750 a year for every workplace parking space they provide.

Green Party-run Bristol City Council is considering a levy of up to £1,250 per space each year, while Liberal Democrat-controlled Oxfordshire County Council wants to introduce charges of up to £600 per space from 2028.

Critics have accused councils of creating a “double tax” on businesses and motorists, arguing firms already pay business rates and could face further financial pressure.

Why are councils considering workplace parking charges?

Workplace Parking Levies are intended to encourage more people to use public transport, cycle or walk to work, while generating money for local transport improvements, reports the Daily Mail.

However, opponents say councils are increasingly looking at the schemes as a way to raise funds as local authority budgets come under growing pressure.

There are concerns that more schemes could be introduced because councils need approval from central government, and Mr Burnham has previously supported the idea.

In comments uncovered by the Mail, while serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2023, Mr Burnham said: “I feel that we need to look at issues like a workplace parking levy – I think that has to be on the agenda as we move forward.”

He added that “tougher measures” could be justified if people continued choosing to drive rather than use public transport.

Which councils are planning workplace parking levies?

Cardiff Council estimates its proposed scheme could raise as much as £10 million a year, while Bristol believes its plans could generate more than £40 million.

Since Cardiff approved its proposals, workplace parking levy plans have also emerged in Bristol, Leeds, Oxford, Birmingham and the London boroughs of Hounslow, Brent and Camden.

The only existing workplace parking levy in the UK operates in Nottingham, where the Labour-run council charges businesses up to £600 for each eligible parking space provided for staff.

The authority says the scheme has raised more than £90 million since it was introduced.

Who would pay a workplace parking levy?

Under many proposed schemes, businesses with 11 or more staff parking spaces would be required to pay the charge.

In Nottingham, however, employers with ten or fewer spaces must still register with the council, creating additional administrative requirements.

Councils introducing the schemes are expected to spend the money raised on transport projects, including park and ride services, cycling routes and improvements to public transport.

What have critics said about workplace parking levies?

Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden criticised the proposals, saying: “Labour councils have found their new stealth tax, and it lands squarely on people who go to work.

“This is a blatant tax on work, and now being rolled out across Bristol, Oxford, Leeds and beyond, with the Labour Transport Secretary holding the veto and refusing to use it.

“The Conservatives will always stand up for drivers. Andy Burnham must rule out the workplace parking tax.”

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, said: “This is an outright attack on drivers.

“Drivers, already burdened by fuel duty, road tax and insurance, are targeted once more, ostensibly under an alleged green policy, but really for simply going to work.”

Luke Bosdet, from the AA, described workplace parking levies as a “double tax”.

He said: “WPL is completely unjustifiable except if you’re a council looking to grab cash from businesses and workers.

“Cardiff City Council reckons it can make £10 million a year from WPL. If even half of that is passed on to the workers, that is £5 million a year sucked out of potential consumer spending in the city.

“With town and city centres struggling with consumer footfall, how stupid is targeting the most regular customers with extra tax?”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said ministers had “always been clear that any revenue raised by schemes like this must be used to deliver local transport policies.”