Trade bodies hope to present a case demonstrating financial effects of London traffic levy on industry.
Construction industry trade bodies have called for the cost of the London congestion charge to be reviewed after six months.

Under the scheme, which comes into effect on Monday 17 February, vehicles will be charged 拢5 a day to enter central London.

好色先生TV revealed last month that the Corporation of London predicts that the toll will cost the average central London construction site an extra 拢50,000.

Suzannah Nichol, chief executive of the National Specialist Contractors Council, has called for the charges to be reviewed once the costs to the industry can be properly assessed.

She said that she contacted Transport for London last year to lobby for concessions to the charges but was told that contractors would have to pay the full cost.

Nichol said: "I would like Transport for London to review the charges after six months, so that a business case can be put to them on behalf of the construction industry as to the true extent of costs and effects."

The Construction Confederation has backed the call for the charges to be reviewed after six months. It has called on its members to provide evidence of their experiences of the effects of the charges.

The congestion charge is unfair on the industry; it is a commercial tax

Construction Confederation

However, a confederation spokesperson said that if deep-rooted concerns were expressed by members before the six-month period, the confederation would act on their behalf.

The spokesperson said: "We see the congestion charge as unfair on the industry; it is a commercial tax."

The Construction Products Association has expressed its opposition to the charge. A spokesperson called for concessions to lorries that prove they are environment-friendly and have a clean air policy.

She said: "The idea of reviewing the congestion charge after six months sounds sensible."

Boroughs affected by the scheme include Southwark, Camden, Westminster, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Islington and Lambeth.

Drivers who have not paid by 10pm on the day of their visit will be charged an extra 拢5. Those who do not pay the charge at all will face fines of 拢80, rising to 拢120 if they do not pay up within a month.

Joe Vice, strategic transportation director of the Corporation of London, said sites would incur extra costs in direct fees, subcontractor costs and administration.