Glasgow City Council (GCC) has mooted imposing a charge on drivers entering the city, which would hit people travelling from East and West Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, and the rest of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
Glasgow residents would be exempt from the fee, though users of the Clyde Tunnel could be hit with the additional road tax.
East Renfrewshire Council unanimously backed a motion brought forward by Councillor Gordon Wallace opposing the introduction of a congestion charge by their city neighbour on Wednesday.
Glasgow would follow London’s lead in introducing the charge (Image: NQ) The motion urged the leader of the Council to write to GCC, COSLA, and the Scottish Government, making East Renfrewshire Council’s position clear.
It also called for a briefing paper to be prepared on the financial and social impacts on East Renfrewshire residents a congestion charge would bring.
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Councillor Wallace said: “The Council has taken a clear position — now it is about making sure that position is acted upon.
“Our residents and businesses deserve to know that East Renfrewshire will not simply absorb costs from policies made in Glasgow, and that we are pressing for the real solution: progress on Clyde Metro.”
A GCC council spokesperson said: “It’s a key element of our Transport Strategy to promote sustainable transport throughout the city, and whilst we do not control the running or delivery of public transport, we are working closely with partners to develop the Clyde Metro proposals and secure improvements to the city’s public transport infrastructure.
“Having fully explored Workplace Parking Licensing, we have no plans to take this forward at this time. We remain committed however to exploring opportunities to tackle congestion and raise revenues that could be invested in improving Glasgow’s roads network and public transport infrastructure.
“While it is clear that the exploration of any congestion charging scheme would likely take several years and would require detailed feasibility work to be progressed, the council will engage closely with the required national regulatory review as part of our ongoing work in this area.”