A PROPOSAL to charge city commuters in Nottingham £185 a year has been criticised by the AA motoring group.
Nottingham City Council approved proposals for its Workplace Parking Levy, which it says will help pay for the expansion of the city's tram network.
The proposal will be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport for approval.
If the levy is introduced, Nottingham would be the first city in the country to charge commuters to park.
The AA's Paul Watters said the levy was "another motoring tax that could deter companies from locating in the city."
The city council expects the levy to be introduced in April 2010. In the first year, each driver would pay £185 to park at work, raising £5.6m for the council coffers.
This would rise to £300 per driver in 2015, making the council £11.3m annually. After 2015, the authority says the levy would only increase at the rate of inflation.
Smaller firms with 10 or fewer car parking spaces will not pay the tax. About 500 of the city's larger employers would be affected.
The council says the charge is against the firms themselves and it is up to them whether they pass it on to their staff.
Councillor Jane Urquhart, who is responsible for transport at the city council, said: "We want to expand the tram system, improve our train station and provide more and better buses."
