The FPB believes that the proposed tax will seriously impact on small businesses operating in Manchester. The charge is likely to encourage entrepreneurs and employees to move elsewhere. The FPB is concerned that the current consultation exercise has come too late; the anxieties of smaller businesses were simply not considered before the bid for government funds was made. Whilst local opinion has been sought, it was not on the issue of congestion charging, but simply whether Manchester should bid for funds to improve public transport.

"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 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."

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) will have to raise an additional £1.3 billion for new bus, rail, tram and cycle links via the charge. There are two planned 'cordons', one surrounding the city centre and another bordered by the M60 motorway, with an associated charge for crossing and re-crossing each.

So far, during the consultation process, there has not been an adequate voice to represent the majority opinion of smaller firms – that this is a disproportionate tax they will struggle to pay.

The Bacon Factory is a family bacon slicing firm in Bury, Lancashire. Its Managing Director, FPB member Chris Hardman, said that congestion charging could prove to be too costly, and disrupt the relationship between small firms, their customers and their suppliers.

"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, so it will cost us more money in the long run, trying to accommodate them. It will also cause us problems with our own deliveries."

His brother, Matt Hardman, added: "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. It could also force potential new businesses to avoid the city altogether."

The FPB is urging owners of small businesses and local residents to stand up and speak out against the congestion charge tax. Sign the FPB's petition at www.fpb.org/manchestercongestion.