At the end of July, the city voted to introduce congestion charging, which would see drivers paying up to £5 a day to enter Manchester city centre in peak periods. But the main question on the retail industry's lips is: how will a new congestion charging system affect trade in the city centre?

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority suggests that improving public transport in Manchester and freeing up the roads from congestion would improve access for businesses and indirectly improve the economic environment for business opportunities.

The outer ring for charging is formed at or close to the M60 and an inner ring will be formed utilising a number of routes, making up an intermediate ring. Drivers will only be charged if their journey takes them across one of the charging points within the charging times.

Charging times are proposed to be between 7am and 9.30am and 4pm and 6.30pm, which the Passenger Transport Authority suggests will largely not affect shoppers. Therefore, if shoppers arrive after 9.30am and leave before 4pm no charges will apply. Similarly, shoppers wishing to stay and eat out before returning home are able to do so free of charge if they leave after 6.30pm.

However, BCSC has warned of the impact that such schemes might have on the competitiveness of shopping locations and that they might undermine the ongoing regeneration of town and city centres by making out-of-town retail destinations more attractive to shoppers.

As set out in BCSC's recently published report, Future of Retail Transport: Access, Information & Flexibility (part of BCSC's Future of Retail Property research programme), it is very difficult to develop publicly acceptable and equitable mandatory road pricing schemes.

The BCSC research, which was carried out by Derek Halden of the Derek Halden Consultancy, points out that such schemes will only be successful if promoters work closely with the retail sector to mitigate the impact that charging will have on the competitiveness of different retail locations and, thereby, ensure equitable solutions.

Manchester is one of 10 areas in the UK known to be actively considering making a bid for a congestion charging scheme. If Manchester delivers this scheme, Halden believes that considering all of the consequences fully will be critical. In particular the BCSC research shows that retail trips could be affected far more than most trip purposes.

"The scale of the impact on things like land prices would probably not be large and the costs could well be manageable within the project budgets," Halden says. "But managing this process is complex - since people and businesses just outside a cordon could find that their house, land and shop prices become relatively lower than those living within a cordon. Any proposal such as this will be critical to the competitiveness of different shopping locations such as The Trafford Centre relative to Manchester city centre."

Although there may be a place for local road pricing schemes, BCSC suggests a voluntary approach to road pricing, with a choice of tariffs available to local people, allowing them to pay reduced taxes in return for participation. This could deliver many of the same benefits without the complexity or controversy of mandatory schemes.

Michelle Atack, marketing manager at the Triangle shopping centre in Manchester city centre, believes the proposed congestion charge would have a negative impact on the centre.

"It's going to affect our customers I would have thought, and not only that but our staff here in the management team and all of our retail staff as well. It's going to be expensive for them to drive into work and parking is expensive as well." As a result, Atack believes some retail staff won't be able to afford to get to work."I don't think we're ready for it," she adds.

Meanwhile, Cityco - the new name for Manchester City Centre Management Company - supports the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) bid. It believes that this is an excellent opportunity to further increase the accessibility of the city centre. Cityco also points out that Manchester is already the hub of the public transport systems for Greater Manchester and the north-west and at the heart of the road network, but insists that as its popularity as the North's favourite shopping location continues to grow, there will be increasing demands on the infrastructure. It believes the TIF investment will cater for this growth.

Gordon Reid, chief executive of Cityco, says: "If Manchester is successful in securing investment from the TIF bid, it will make the city centre even easier to reach for the high percentage of shoppers that are already using public transport. Furthermore, the congestion charge itself is primarily aimed at controlling peak traffic flows. A tiny percentage of shoppers drive to the city centre before 9.30am on weekdays, so the charge will have minimum impact on the retail sector.

"In addition, there will be significant benefits for those car-borne shoppers who visit the centre after 9.30am. They will be exempt from the congestion charge. These shoppers will also have more parking spaces as they are freed up by the transfer of some commuters to the improved public transport services.

"Ultimately, this will make shopping in Manchester an even more enjoyable experience and in turn have a positive impact on footfall, as the city centre becomes a more accessible retail destination."

Cityco will be running an event this December to look at transportation in the city centre, at which relevant parties, including those representing the retail sector, will be invited to discuss all the issues and air their views, both positive and negative.

An independent survey issued back in the summer also found that 82 per cent of businesses in Greater Manchester do not support AGMA's plans to introduce road user charging or the 'Toll Tax'.

The survey, carried out by Manchester-based market research firm Aspect, indicates widespread dissatisfaction with the tax. Employers believe the scheme will damage the economy, make Manchester less competitive and cost thousands of jobs. Some 1,250 firms were interviewed and 95 per cent believe the tax is just a revenue-raising scheme for local government.

Only 6 per cent of those surveyed believe that the tax will have a positive effect on business competitiveness while more than half believe it will have a negative effect.

The poll also revealed major scepticism about the likelihood of public transport improvements being delivered before any tax is implemented.

Ninety-one per cent of those surveyed believe it is vital that significant improvements be in place before the tax bites but some 69 per cent of businesses do not believe such improvements will be delivered.

Future investment in Manchester's economy could be hit hard, according to the survey's findings, as 50 per cent of businesses indicated that they would be less likely to invest in Manchester if the tax is introduced.

Of those surveyed, some 55 per cent were not even aware that their business was going to be affected by the tax.

Parkeon's systems to improve efficiency

Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) has appointed Parkeon as its chosen partner for pay-on-foot parking systems at two of its locations.

Parkeon's first system for CSC will comprise 12 Varioflex automatic pay stations, together with Varioflex terminals/barriers on the three entry and four exit lanes, in the 1,600-space, six deck multi-storey car park at The Chimes shopping centre in Uxbridge, West London.

The pay stations will enable CSC to accept Chip and PIN credit card payments for parking at The Chimes, in addition to coins and bank notes. The introduction of secure card payment facilities is for the convenience of shoppers and to increase security, while also reducing revenue collections costs for the operator.

The Varioflex system's main server will collect, consolidate and present financial and statistical data on parking activity on a daily basis and supply it in a standard spreadsheet format on a PC in The Chimes' parking office. It will also generate real-time warnings and alarms if a machine requires attention - for example, when the ticket supply needs replenishing, a cash vault emptying or maintenance is necessary.

In addition, the server will be integrated with a vehicle messaging system on each deck to indicate whether it is 'full' or that 'spaces' are available.

Parkeon's second system for CSC will replace pay & display parking early in 2008 at the The Glades shopping centre in Bromley, Kent. The car park ranges between two and four levels and will have 15 pay stations, plus terminals/barriers on its seven entry and five exit lanes. This system will also accept Chip and PIN credit card payments, as well as coins and bank notes, and incorporate variable message signs.

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