Congestion charge hits pub profits

Pubs in central London are losing customers because of the controversial congestion charge which was introduced last February.

An independent survey, conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), found that three quarters of central London leisure businesses - including pubs - believe the charge has reduced custom.

Worse still they add that the introduction of the congestion charge has done nothing to cut traffic delays - the very reason it was introduced in the first place.

In fact, figures from Transport for London show that the number of vehicles entering the central zone has increased by 10 per cent to 110,000 a day since the £5 charge was introduced.

And delivery firms are also unimpressed with the results. Nearly 70 per cent said their journeys were no faster than 12 months ago.

A survey of licensees conducted by the Publican in and around the congestion zones delivered mixed reactions. Whereas many licensees said that they hadn't noticed a drop in custom, others said the impact had hit them hard.

William McGrath, licensee of the Blue Posts said business in the West End had suffered considerably. "Trade is generally bad at the moment. I'm not sure if it's just down to the congestion charge or whether its something else but it must be playing some part. This pub is trading at about 10 per cent less than it was at this time last year."

But Lesley Lewis, licensee of the French House in Piccadilly Circus, said that whereas she'd noticed a problem convincing delivery and repair people to come into the central charging zone she hadn't really noticed a drop in customers.

Daniel Carruthers, licensee of The Australian in Soho, said he had noticed a slight fall in customers. "We used to have a rush of customers at 5pm and now that has fallen slightly but it's nothing significant."

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London is expected to dismiss claims that a fall in business is due to the congestion charge, instead blaming it on economic factors.

But he is under pressure from his political competitors who want to modify the scheme if they are successful in winning at the June Mayoral elections.