The Department for Transport has given the green light to Nottingham City Council to introduce a workplace parking levy.

The decision will allow local businesses to be charged for each parking space they provide to employees.

However, given the current difficult economic situation the Department for Transport has imposed a two-year delay, until 2012, in collection of the levy charges.

The charging scheme is part of the conditional approval given today (Friday, July 31) to extensions of the Nottingham tram system, which will see Nottingham City Council receive £530m in Government funding.

Nottingham City Council is required to provide a contribution to the tram scheme, which the workplace parking levy order will help finance. The city council is the only authority to have submitted an application for such an order.

Workplace levy schemes may only be introduced if they will contribute to the achievement of local transport policies, with all revenues reinvested in local transport, and must first be approved by the Department for Transport.