A workplace parking levy could be introduced for businesses across Oxford by 2019 after proposals were approved by the council.

The charge on parking spaces was included in Oxford County Council’s Local Transport Plan for up to 2030.

It says it wants to press ahead with developing a workplace parking levy to help battle chronic congestion in the city.

And it argues the levy – which would charge firms for the number of parking spaces they own above a set threshold – could generate millions to spend on major transport schemes.

However, Oxfordshire Town Chamber Network director Keith Slater said a workplace parking levy would force businesses to choose between absorbing the extra costs or passing them on to employees.

“This would be tantamount to increasing business rates for firms in the city,” he told The Oxford Times.

“It is a big extra cost and could act as a disincentive to firms looking at whether they should base themselves there.”

The levy would be similar to that used in Nottingham, where businesses with 11 or more parking spaces are charged £375 per space each year, the county council said.