Edinburgh to explore introducing congestion charge for cars coming into Capital

The city will begin having conversations with Glasgow, which is also interested in introducing a congestion charge, and with other local authorities in the Lothians.

In February 2005, a referendum was held on introducing a congestion charge in Edinburgh, when the proposal was roundly defeated.

Edinburgh voted against a congestion charge in 2005. Picture: Lisa Ferguson. | TSPL

But some councillors feel that the time is now appropriate to start exploring such a scheme again.

Green councillor Chas Booth, speaking at the council’s Transport and Environment Committee, said: “There is an opportunity today to start a conversation about road user charging. Let’s start that conversation.”

At present, London is the only city in the UK to have introduced a congestion charge. Introduced in 2003, the scheme charges motorists £15 to enter the core of the city.

Under the scheme proposed in 2005, drivers in Edinburgh would have been charged £2 (£3.50 today) to enter the Capital.

However the postal ballot saw 74 per cent of voters reject the plan.

Under an amendment proposed by the Greens to the City Mobility Plan, which was passed at the Transport and Environment Committee on Thursday, the council will begin exploring the plans with other councils.

The city will seek to work with Glasgow, Sestrans and several local authorities around Edinburgh to develop a common framework for how congestion charging could work in Scottish cities.

Any scheme may face an uphill struggle, as the legislation for enabling a road pricing scheme does not fully exist.

London’s scheme was introduced using powers specifically granted to the city by Westminster in 1999.

However, the Scottish Government will soon discuss legislative changes that could make congestion charging possible.

Cllr Booth said that the money could go towards funding local infrastructure projects, dozens of which were paused on Thursday due to a lack of available cash.

Cllr Booth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’m delighted Edinburgh has agreed to start conversations about congestion charging with other councils.

“It’s absolutely clear that Edinburgh will not meet its commitments to address the climate emergency unless we take bold action to encourage people to choose more sustainable alternatives to the private car.

“While the council doesn’t yet have the full powers to introduce congestion charging, and any Edinburgh scheme is likely to be many years away, it is nonetheless right that we start talking about what a scheme might look like.

“[We will explore] whether we have any common ground with Glasgow which is also considering a scheme, and with surrounding councils about how we can ensure an equitable distribution of any income from the scheme to support sustainable commuting into Edinburgh.”