The levy applies to businesses with 11 places or more within the Nottingham City Council administrative boundary and has seen a charge of £288 per space applied since 1st April 2012.

From 1st April 2013, firms will be required to apply for a new licence, with the charge per space going up to £334 – a rise of 16%.

Firms can pass the charge on to employees but this has not gone down well and many choose to pay the charge themselves or have decided to no longer provide workplace parking.

The BBC has reported that the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce said the rise was hitting harder because the downturn had gone on longer than expected, with chairman of the chamber of commerce, George Cowcher, commenting: ‘Business is still reeling from having the charge introduced in the first place and while they were aware it would step up, the rise is higher than the general level of inflation and that is of concern.

‘If you are a business which is struggling to make ends meet then it is another burden and that will affect the amount that can be invested in the business, it may affect the number of people it can employ, it just makes life harder.’

However, the city council told the BBC the increase was planned and the money was being used for transport improvements.

All money raised from the WPL must be invested into improving local transport for Nottingham, and is being used to provide funding for the extensions to the existing tram system, as well the redevelopment of Nottingham Railway Station and supporting the Link bus network.