A RESOUNDING vote against plans for Britain's biggest road charging zone could discourage similar schemes in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire.

Residents in Greater Manchester opted to reject the proposals by two to one yesterday in a referendum.

Under the scheme, which would have covered about 80 square miles corresponding to the area within the M60 orbital motorway, drivers could have been paying up to £5 a day – or £1,200 a year – to use the region's roads.

Local councils wanted the charges to help pay for £2.7 billion of investment in trains, trams and buses, promising a revolution in public transport.

Business leaders and drivers' representatives in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire have welcomed the vote, which many hope will put other local authorities off considering congestion charges.

Paul Biggs, Staffordshire representative for the Association of British Drivers, said: "I think this will probably kill off any chance of a congestion charge appearing anywhere else in the country.

"It's very good news for drivers. We already pay around £50 billion to use the roads and we don't want to have to pay twice."

John Dunning, chief executive of South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It will be a relief to those companies based in the South Cheshire area who have to travel in and out of Manchester to do their business, and on that basis a no vote is something that will be welcomed."

But Paul De Santis, commercial director of bus company First, said: "Bus companies tend to be in favour of charges like this because they can mean a lot of investment in public transport improvements.

"The big downside for us from this vote is that the Government may well be reluctant now to try similar things elsewhere because of the message the people of Manchester have sent out.

"North Staffordshire was way down the pecking order in terms of looking at launching a similar scheme, but it may have happened some time down the line."

In 2005, council officials in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire launched a joint bid for £2.3 million to fund a study into congestion charging.

But when the bid failed, officers decided against reapplying amid fears a pilot scheme could deter new businesses from moving to the area.