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Manchester SMEs 'oppose road pricing'

Published On 30 May 2007 at 08:51:09

The vast majority of small business owners in the Manchester area are opposed to the proposed road pricing scheme which could be introduced in the city.

A survey carried out by Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank found that 81 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the local area said that they did not support the scheme.

However, the data showed that businesses in London - where a road pricing scheme is already in place - were far more accepting of such systems. In fact, a third (32 per cent) of the capital's SMEs said they actively support road pricing.

"Road pricing - if introduced - would be another financial burden for small businesses," explained Steve Jennings, the lender's director of business banking.

"Companies will need to review their outgoings, in order to absorb this cost."

Recently, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that the government should let businesses and the public vote before any road pricing schemes were introduced.

"Small businesses cannot make deliveries or take heavy tools and equipment on the bus. Nor, given their tight profit margins and heavy competition from larger firms, can they absorb the costs or pass them on to their customers," explained Steve Collie, the FSB's transport chairman.

 

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