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C-charge takes double hit
17 December 2008
The cause of Congestion Charging in the UK has taken another double blow.
Durham’s city council has scrapped plans to extend road tolls and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said he would consider suspending the capital’s Congestion Charge to help the London economy during the recession.
The moves come in the wake of a resounding rejection by local voters of a congestion charge scheme due to cover much of Greater Manchester.
Durham already has already implemented a charge to enter the centre of the city, where access is restricted by the Medieval street layout.
However, after a comprehensive study into extending road tolling, the local council has dropped the idea.
The leader of council, Simon Henig, said that Durham wanted to "manage the amount of traffic entering and passing through the city" but didn’t want to put people off from visiting.
In the British capital, Johnson told the Mayor’s Question Time he would "brood" on the idea that the whole Congestion Charge scheme should be suspended in light of the economic situation.
"There is a problem with congestion in this city… before we did anything I would have to be assured that congestion would not be affected."
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