Councils that run parks such as Snowdonia and the Peak District say roads are being clogged by millions of visitors driving to view some of Britain’s most unspoilt countryside. 

After seeing Ken Livingstone’s £5 toll reduce peak-time London traffic by 20%, councils are proposing similar charges — with the revenue to be spent on buses and car parks. 

The Peak District, England’s first national park, now attracting 22m visitors a year to sites such as Chatsworth House, Kinder Scout and the Bakewell museum, is set to be first. 

Labour-run Derbyshire council wants to impose a £3 charge for motorists using the road up to the Ladybower visitor centre, one of the park’s biggest attractions. Motorists would be offered the alternative of a free bus. 

The scheme would initially be controlled with a barrier. If successful, it could be extended to other parts of the park with cameras used to collect tolls. A council spokesman said an application to levy the charge would be made to the Department for Transport shortly. 

Plans are also being drawn up for cameras on roads into the 840-square mile Snowdonia national park, visited by several million walkers, climbers and other tourists each year. 

The moves suggest that the philosophy expressed by Derek Turner, architect of the London charging scheme, that car users are guilty of “an inappropriate use of road space” is spreading. 

Edmund King, of the RAC Foundation, said urban charging schemes worked because of public transport alternatives. 

“Rural schemes could have the same economic impact as foot and mouth disease. In the countryside, 85% of people use cars for the good reason that there is no other way of getting around,” he said. 

Others see the congestion charges as a new form of stealth tax because they will be levied by local authorities rather than central government. However, government and independent experts predict that within a decade a quarter of Britain’s motorists could be regularly charged for peak-time driving. 

To counter local opposition in Snowdonia, councillors want a sophisticated system that would charge residents only a small percentage of the toll paid by visitors. 
Dafydd Iwan, who is responsible for transport on Gwynedd council, said: “We have got to do something about all the cars coming into the area while also raising money for public transport and maintaining visitor levels.” 

Such schemes are seen as the only way to combat traffic growth. Government forecasts show that without them traffic on rural roads will grow by 20% to 30% in the next decade. 

Paul Hamblin, of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, said: “High volumes of traffic are destroying the tranquillity of the countryside and robbing it of its character. 

It creates an intimidating environment for walkers, cyclists and horse riders and damages the fabric of rural towns and villages.” 

The Lake District, also beset by heavy traffic, was a candidate for congestion charges but Cumbria council has decided to delay for fear of a backlash. A Cumbria spokesman said that it was coping with congestion through other ways of traffic management but it did not rule out charging in the future. 

Among other rural beauty spots considering charging is the Cotswolds. Picturesque villages such as Chipping Campden and Stow-on-the-Wold are often overrun at weekends by cars full of city-dwellers. 

Bob Eccles, responsible for sustainable development and environment on Gloucestershire council, said it had considered road charging especially in some of the more crowded market towns — but wanted to see how it operated elsewhere first. Eccles said: “It might be popular with residents who want cars off their streets, but not with shopkeepers who need the business.” 

At present Durham is the only place in Britain operating a congestion charging scheme outside London. Motorists face a £2 toll to enter Durham’s Saddler Street, near the cathedral, between 10am and 4pm. The charge has cut traffic by 90% compared with the 3,000 vehicles which once used it daily. 

It is likely to be followed by Edinburgh and Bristol, both of which are planning schemes similar to London’s and will charge motorists £5 a day to travel into a central zone between 7am and 6.30pm.