FPB joins campaign against road pricing in Manchester

19 February 2008

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The FPB is warning that a proposed road-pricing scheme in Greater Manchester will prove disastrous for many smaller businesses, which could struggle to find the money to pay it. In addition, it is likely to deter potential entrepreneurs from setting up business in the region.

"This will heap on extra delivery costs, and damage the relationships between smaller businesses and their suppliers, not to mention their customers," said the FPB's Policy Representative, Matt Goodman." It will also have the effect of driving people away from Manchester city centre to out-of-town shopping centres. It will also make Manchester less competitive with other regions, and therefore less attractive to businesses looking to set up there. Smaller firms just cannot afford this extra tax."

There are two planned ‘cordons', one surrounding the city centre and another bordered by the M60 motorway. Motorists would face charges of up to £5 to drive into Manchester and out again during busy periods. They would receive an electronic tag to monitor their journeys on the 15 main roads leading into the city.

The proposal was made by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), which has bid for £1 billion worth of pubic transport improvements from the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) in exchange for supporting its plans to introduce congestion charging. An extra £2 billion would be raised separately and repaid by the money raised by the charge. AGMA requires support from two-thirds of Manchester's 10 district councils. Currently, three have come out against the bid.

FPB member Chris Hardman is Managing Director of The Bacon Factory, a bacon slicing company in Heys Street, Bury. He said that road pricing would be bad for business.

"We don't want it; it's just another form of tax that is bound to be detrimental to businesses," said Mr Hardman. "Customers and suppliers are going to try to avoid it at all costs, and they will want to operate outside normal business hours – it will cost us more money in the long run trying to accommodate them. It will also cause us problems with our own deliveries."

FPB joins campaign against road pricing in Manchester

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