C-charge blamed as profits drop

The congestion charge is on the verge of "breaking the back" of retailers across London, it is claimed today.

More than eight in 10 traders say their takings have fallen since the introduction of the controversial ?£5 toll.

And more than six in 10 of those insist that the charge - launched two years ago this week - is firmly to blame.

The London Chamber of Commerce survey says: "Retail businesses in the C-charge zone have hardened their opposition to the scheme. Increasingly they blame it for commercial problems which have hit the centre of the capital."

The Chamber says that when traders were last questioned one year ago, only 70 per cent said takings were down ( compared to 84 per cent today) and only 42 per cent blamed the congestion charge (62 per cent today). Other findings in the survey of 330 retailers are:

More than seven in 10 businesses call for the scheme to be improved with a new charge-free "window" during the day - up from 68 per cent in the last survey. Nearly seven in 10 want the scheme improved by having it end earlier than the current 6.30pm.

Dan Bridgett, of the London Chamber of Commerce, said: "A year ago the Mayor paid lip service to the problems which the C-charge was causing business.

"But now that he's re-elected he seems intent on pressing ahead with the hugely unpopular westward expansion and ramping up the cost of driving into the existing zone."

Mr Bridgett added: "Unless the Mayor acts now to address the reasons for this, his scheme will be remembered as the straw that broke the back of many marginal retailers."

However, a spokesman for Transport for London said: "This self-selected sample provides a picture very different from other economically based surveys.

"After two years of operation, only a handful of people and organisations question the success of the scheme."