FOLLOWERS of city politics will be surprised to learn that York council is floating the idea of a congestion charge.

Soon after the election which returned him as city leader, Steve Galloway said: "Congestion charging would definitely not be the best thing for York."

Perhaps the scale of the development in the pipeline has changed minds at the Guildhall.

One of the biggest schemes is York University's expansion. Increasing the size of the university by a third will bring benefits to the city. But it will undoubtedly add to the strain on a limited infrastructure.

The council is belatedly acknowledging the fact that the new campus will cause a traffic headache. A congestion charge is one of four options, including the status quo, being put forward to manage Heslington Lane as 5,000 new students, 2,000 extra staff and many more suppliers descend on the area.

Local residents will be exempt from paying the congestion charge under the plans. It will be interesting to see whether this will encourage them to back this most radical option.

Labour's Dave Merrett is right to ask that residents be given a say. If congestion charging were to be introduced in Heslington, it would probably be rolled out elsewhere. After all, the housing and business parks intended for York all carry major traffic implications.

Unfortunately, York planners seem set on examining each scheme in isolation. They have rejected calls for an environmental capacity study which would have gauged whether this ancient city can sustain the growth proposed for it.

Updated: 12:54 Thursday, March 04, 2004