ATTEMPTS to introduce road-pricing and workplace parking charges would threaten economic chaos and damage British business, a new report claims. 'Mind the Gap! A response to 'A new deal for transport', published by chartered surveyor and international property consultant King Sturge & Co examines the proposals set out in the Government's white paper on integrated transport.

It says using charges to deter car use, one of the cornerstones of the Government's white paper on integrated transport, could not be achieved without hurting the economy, because to be effective, those charges would have to be unaffordable. 'Policy seems tied to price-based measures, which to be effective need to be set at levels which may well begin to disable the local economies they are supporting,' the report says.

'It appears to favour out-of-town development rather than in town, as town centres will bear the brunt of tax raising proposals,' the report adds, saying that despite calls for fleets to move drivers on to alternative forms of transport, there is still no real alternative to the car.

The report continues: 'It is one thing to have a policy of switching journeys from car to train, but such a modal shift is predicted on the availability of realistic public transport alternatives. Without substantial initial expenditure, these alternatives do not exist.'