Congestion charging 'immoral'
Date: 31 August 2007
A council member has hit out at the government's planned congestion charging scheme in Manchester, which would see motorists, including couriers, charged to drive into the city.
Conservative leader of Macclesfield Council Wesley Fitzgerald has branded the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities' (AGMA) congestion plan as "immoral".
"Congestion charging is a cash-raising scheme for the benefit of Manchester, with no foreseeable benefit for Macclesfield," he said, the Macclesfield Express reports.
According to the paper, Liberal Democrat Councillor Stephen Broadhurst added that the effects of the congestion charging scheme will hit Macclesfield residents and businesses "like a freight train".
The AGMA proposals currently include pay-as-you-drive charging on A6 and A34, the Express' report revealed - key commuter and haulage routes for Macclesfield.
Currently under consultation, should the AGMA's plans go ahead motorists would have to pay to drive into Manchester between 7am and 9.30am and 4pm to 6.30pm.
The Road Haulage Association has condemned the strategy as "fundamentally flawed" because of the impact it will have on freight vehicles and "hence the success of the economy of Greater Manchester".
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