Furious Guy Kingston, chairman of the Bristol branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, is calling for businesses to boycott a city council parking survey in protest at plans to introduce a tax on workplace parking to help bridge a funding gap for three rapid transit schemes.
The survey is part of the council's consultation process for its proposals – which affect certain parts of the city centre – but the issue has incensed Mr Kingston, (pictured). He said: “It is a completely wrong-headed method of charging. Why should businesses which bring wealth and prosperity into Bristol have to pay for these schemes when they do not even have universal approval? The proposed workplace parking levy is deeply discriminatory, penalising business that just happens to be located in the wrong part of town.
“Businesses already pay rates and the employees of those businesses also pay rates at their homes. If the council really believe this scheme is worth the money then they should fund it by selling some of their assets, such as land holdings or buildings.”
Mr Kingston warned that with many city centre shops empty, office-based businesses down-sizing and others going into liquidation because of national economic circumstances, the proposal sends out completely the wrong message. He declared: "It says Bristol is closed for business – come here and we’ll leech you with one tax after another. It is just the wrong time to impose any extra burden on our hard-pressed firms. It seems councils have failed to learn the lessons from their actions that drove retailers out of town, now Bristol are trying to do the same with the rest of the business community.
“We need a city that people can access by car, bus, train, bicycle and on foot. The balance has to be right but many businesses rely on cars and vans and need parking spaces for them. Fundamental transport issues – like putting the bus station next to the railway station – have never been grasped by the city council. And, a functioning private vehicle road infrastructure is also vital to our local economy – try telling a plumber to do his rounds on a bendy bus!
“It is just because businesses do not get a vote that they are being victimised in this way. The council see us as a soft target and because we can’t defend ourselves at the ballot box we have to find other ways of standing up and making our point.”
He accused the council of being irresponsible – "irresponsible in harming the local economy, especially during such challenging times, and irresponsible spending nearly £10,000 on a survey when they have yet to make a final decision to levy this charge.
“Frankly, if the council don’t know how many parking spaces you have, how can they tax you on them? As a general rule of thumb I would recommend to any business never to supply one iota of information to either national or local government – or anyone acting on their behalf – unless absolutely required to do so by law.”
The Bristol branch of the Federation of Small Businesses is urging all businesses to send back the surveys with a note saying they are refusing to co-operate.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "We have had more than 1,000 responses and so far only 17 have refused to engage in the survey."
