Congestion charge fears hit city firms
Restaurants and hotels in London are seeking ways to avoid extra costs being passed on to them following the introduction of the congestion charge on traffic, which comes into force on 17 February.
Many hoteliers see it as inevitable that suppliers, which will be charged a £5 levy every time their vehicles enter London's central zone, will pass the charges on.
"It's totally ill-conceived," said Justin Huber, general manager of Fuller's hotels division. "There is a cost to the business, particularly in food and beverage, and it could be an opportunity for suppliers to do quite well."
Alan Toft, director general of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, said that some members were looking at ways to avoid the charge altogether, such as delivering outside the restricted time band of 7.30am to 6.30pm. "It could be that some restaurants will get deliveries at 1am instead of first thing in the morning," he said.
The Thistle hotel group is in talks with its suppliers to find ways to reduce the number of deliveries and reschedule timings. "By doing these two things, we don't think the congestion charge will have an impact," said Ed Winterschladen, Thistle's director of purchasing.
Tony Allan is moving his Fish! restaurant chain headquarters out of central London to Kent in order to avoid the charges. Allan, who has two of his seven restaurants inside the new zone, said the move would be one way to cut congestion costs.
Trade at both Allan's County Hall and Borough Fish! restaurants will be affected, he said, as customers currently able to park at both locations would be put off by the levy. "It's going to affect bums-on-seats," he said, "and it's not as if we've got a public transport system that works properly."
Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said that, while some costs may be inevitable, if the scheme were successful in reducing traffic it could encourage more visitors into London.
by Christina Golding and Helen Adkins
