Following a backlash from many small businesses and the general public, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly admitted that road charges would not be introduced for many years. She announced alternative methods to tackle congestion, such as allowing drivers to use the hard shoulder on certain busy roads following a successful trial on the M42, near Birmingham.

 

However, Ms Kelly refused to rule out a road pricing scheme in the future. She also revealed that the Government would provide a further four years of funding for local road pricing pilot schemes.

 

"The nationwide road charging plans, which amount to financial penalties for trading in or delivering to certain areas, appear to have been dropped, at least for the time being," said the FPB's Policy Representative, Matt Goodman. "But the Government has yet to commit to scrapping the idea altogether and authorities are still being encouraged to experiment with charges locally."

 

AGMA has bid for £1 billion worth of pubic transport improvements from the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). An extra £2 billion would be raised separately and repaid by the money raised by the charge.

 

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. AGMA requires support from two-thirds of Manchester's 10 district councils. Currently, three have come out against the bid.

 

FPB member Matt Hardman, of the Bacon Factory, a bacon slicing firm in Bury, Lancashire, said that congestion charging could prove to be too costly, and disrupt the relationship between small firms, their customers and their suppliers.

 

"It could also drive consumers away from Manchester city centre towards other regions and out-of-town shopping centres - especially during normal operating hours, when the charges would apply," he said. "It could also force potential new businesses to avoid the city altogether."

 

Following the introduction of the original road charging scheme in London, which will be followed in October this year by additional emissions-related charges, road charging proposals were announced elsewhere in the UK. In Shrewsbury, for example, Shropshire County Council voted to abandon the idea, following on from authorities such as Edinburgh City Council, which held a referendum in which the majority of people voted against it.

 

The FPB believes that AGMA and other groups pushing for road charging schemes should follow suit and seek alternatives to the problem of congestion, and not tax small businesses which rely on the nation's road networks.

 

Speaking to the BBC about her decision, Ms Kelly said: "People legitimately raised concerns about privacy, fairness and how any scheme would be enforced. We don't have all the answers to those questions yet. We can't introduce this without having answers to those questions."

 

She added: "What we are going to do is trial technology over the next couple of years - asking private sector companies to work with volunteers and see whether they can answer some of those fundamental issues."