THE department stores Harvey Nichols and Jenners are to lobby customers in this month’s sales to persuade them to vote against Edinburgh’s road tolls.

Bargain hunters will be handed leaflets putting the case for a No vote in next month’s city-wide referendum on the £2 congestion charge.

The campaign has been organised by the City Centre Retail Group (CCRG), which predicts a drop in trade worth £38m and the loss of up to 380 jobs.

It believes it will be 2009 before income in the capital’s shops will return to pre-congestion charge levels. Up to 250 other stores in the city are expected to join in the leafleting operation.

In London, where a £5 congestion charge has been operating since February 2003, John Lewis has reported a 9% drop in trade and Harvey Nichols has extended opening hours to offset the impact — even though its flagship Knightsbridge store is outside the zone.

Edinburgh city council is proposing to enforce a £2 charge payable inside a cordon, which roughly follows the city bypass, from the summer of next year. It will not be payable at weekends but retailers insist that any charge should only be levied at peak times.

Retailers are also unhappy that promised improvements in public transport will not be in place before the charge is introduced. These include a tram system and improved suburban railway services. A proposed underground car park in George Street is also some years off.

“We do not oppose congestion charging in principle,” said the CCRG, “but cannot support the current set of proposals, which will result in a 7% loss of sales from Monday to Friday.”

The council’s Tory group is considering lodging a legal challenge to the proposals. “We believe we have a powerful case. The referendum question is fatally flawed,” said James Gilchrist, a Tory councillor.

“We cannot accept that the question is not biased and, with the explanatory leaflet, it is too long.”

The referendum question will ask residents in Edinburgh if they favour the council’s “preferred transport strategy which includes congestion charging”.

Council officials insist the wording complies with guidelines set out by the Electoral Commission, the independent body that now oversees voting in Britain. However, political analysts have voiced concerns that it may not be properly balanced.

“The use of the word ‘preferred’ is disastrous because it is rather suggesting the council wants this and are asking you to vote for it,” said John Curtice, a professor of politics at Strathclyde University.

Edinburgh council leaders argue that congestion charging is essential if the capital is to be prepared for the future. Andrew Burns, a councillor and the city’s transport convenor, said: “Too often we forget that, despite the fact that Edinburgh is the strongest city economy in Europe, our success is still fragile.

“Congestion is predicted to double by 2016 — it is already putting a stranglehold on our businesses and economy and making journeys frustrating for residents.

“If radical action is not taken to tackle congestion then Edinburgh and the southeast of Scotland will suffer. We need to act now to ensure that our economy continues to grow and prosper.”

Last week Midlothian council said its solicitors would seek a judicial review and an interdict to block the referendum. The council believes Edinburgh’s decision to exempt people living in Currie, Balerno, Juniper Green, Kirkliston and South Queensferry from the congestion charge is illegal because it disadvantages other areas on the outskirts of the capital.

West Lothian council also plans to hold its own referendum to coincide with the Edinburgh ballot. Fife council believes that the cost of holding its own referendum would be difficult to justify but is prepared to join with other councils in taking legal action.

Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, will attend a key conference in Edinburgh later this month at which he will outline what he believes to be the benefits of the congestion charge.

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