Business leaders have said a congestion charge in Glasgow would not help with the city centre’s economic recovery.

This week the Glasgow Times revealed that Richard Bell, the City Treasurer, wants the council to be able to put a charge on people driving cars into the city from outside.

He said such a measure was necessary to enable the council to raise its own funds in the light of ongoing annual budget deficits.

READ MORE:Glasgow should bring in congestion charge to raise cash says Treasurer

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, however, said it would be counter-productive.

Next year the city faces a budget shortfall of £120m, and it has warned jobs and services at the council will likely be lost.

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said businesses recognise the pressures but urged caution over imposing new charges.

Glasgow Times:

Mr Patrick said: “We fully understand the financial challenges faced by Glasgow City Council and share the view that local government has too often been the first to see its budgets cut.

“We don’t doubt that the city council will have to find ways to ensure that vital services such as education, planning, roads and cleansing are sustained.

“We are sure that it will consult on all measures it might wish to explore so that it can assess the economic impacts of its decisions.”

READ MORE: Glasgow needs more money from John Swinney or jobs will be lost

With many sectors still recovering from the Covid lockdown and fewer people visiting the city centre, the chamber fears a congestion charge could be yet another barrier to people coming in.

He added: “The biggest concern is that such a measure would further hamper the city centre’s recovery.

“Footfall remains 18% below pre-Covid levels and much work is still needed to attract more people into the city centre.

“Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Glasgow City Council share an aim to help Glasgow city centre recover after the pandemic and we are sure the council would not wish to design new taxes and charges that would make that more difficult.”

The council will set its budget in the New Year and is waiting to assess the impact of the Scottish Government budget on its allocation of cash.

Council tax is also likely to rise but only raises around 12% of the city’s finances.

The council also has a bill of around £40m a year for 30 years to finance the equal pay settlements.

In an interview, with the Glasgow Times, Councillor Bell said that the council needs to have more freedom and choice to raise taxes from sources like a congestion charge or a visitor tax on hotel stays for example.