COMPANIES will have to apply to their local authority for a licence to allow a certain number of vehicles to be parked on site, under a new Government initiative. This aims to reduce the amount of parking available as a disincentive for employees to drive to work, and to promote the use of public transport alternatives as well as walking and cycling.

The concept of taxing private, non-residential parking was unveiled in the integrated transport white paper, published in July, but the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions did not reveal how this would work in practice. This has now been detailed in the Government response to The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's Twentieth Report.

'The Government has proposed that owners or occupiers of business premises would apply to the local authority for a licence to allow a certain number of vehicles to be parked on site,' it said. 'The Government considers that new measures are needed to tackle excessive workplace parking provision at existing developments so local authorities can develop comprehensive parking management policies that support their transport and development plans.'