The money raised by the WPL will go towards the NET Phase Two (the expansion of Nottingham’s tram system’ and ‘the Hub’ project, which is the plan to renovate Nottingham Train Station. By extending the NET system, they will be able to serve 23 million passengers a year, with over 17.5km of new track. Overall, it will consist of 51 tram stops, 28 of them new, and will apparently boost the local economy by up to £300 million a year, partially by helping the transformation of Beeston town centre and Clifton. The ‘Hub project’ is the renovation of Nottingham Train Station into a taxi, train, bus, car, and tram hotspot. It costs £150million, so it is obvious as to how the WPL can aid its foundation.
There are however problems created by this Levy…
-Many fear that it will transform Nottingham into a ghost town, as companies will not be encouraged to set up in Nottingham, and existing companies will be encouraged to move out of Nottingham
-Employees have taken to the streets for free parking, to avoid paying for the employer’s Workplace Parking Levy. This has been described to cause ‘chaos’ and cases have got so bad that one man wasn’t able to get to work in the morning because of other cars blocking his driveway.
-The WPL is being used to pay for the tramworks, which have themselves induced much more traffic and congestion problems within Nottingham itself.
With these disadvantages however, there are advantages
-The WPL is reducing traffic in Nottingham City Centre, and encouraging use of public transport, freeing up roads and reducing congestion problems.
-This extra use of public transport and less traffic helps the environment by reducing the amount of car emissions
-The funding of ‘the Hub project’ and NET Stage two helps to increase the use of public transport around Nottingham, and helped make Nottingham the city with the highest transport satisfaction in the UK
Overall, the WPL, although controversial, has many benefits as well as disadvantages to Nottingham. Although the outcome and long-term situation is uncertain, it is certain that improvements to Nottingham’s transportation system is beneficial to all other categories and sectors of the running of Nottingham.