• COMMENT BAN THE BAN
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• The London Lorry Ban has always been controversial; now it is in danger of becoming farcical. Since its introduction by the old Greater London Council some 18 months ago it has been administered by a mixed bag of bodies, with consequent confusion and lack of cohesion. During this time not a single haulier has been prosecuted for breaking the night-time and weekend ban.
The irony of this is that after promising to tackle the supposed problem of heavy goods vehicles in the nation's capital, the "here-today, gone-tomorrow" politicians and their administrators have proved totally inept at operating such controls. They did manage, however, to involve the road haulage industry in the expensive and time-consuming exercise of complying with the ban. The criticisms made at the time of its inception — difficulty in enforcement, poor signposting and unrealistic conditions for permits — are still being made and will doubtless continue to be raised for months, if not years to come.
Now Camden Council is attempting to prosecute four hauliers for allegedly breaking the ban, and a consultancy has been hired to look at ways of improving signposting, which could lead to more enforcement. While the outcome of this project will not be known until next year, Camden Council's approach to the prosecutions has already attracted attention. Following what are described as "administrative difficulties" by the council and its advisory body the London Strategic Policy Unit (an organisation which is itself due to be wound up in March 1988), the first two prosecutions have twice been postponed, while the remaining pair has been put back "until early next year".
An indication of the "administrative difficulties" experienced by Camden is its handling of the first set of prosecutions: one of the two hauliers concerned says it has not even received any notice of intended prosecution. This did not prevent the LSPU from naming the company in a press release 10 days ago. Indeed, there is still some confusion over whether a summons has even been sent to the operator concerned.
No doubt there is a good reason for all this confusion, but is it any wonder tha operators view the ban, and its administrators with such scepticism. At best the ban is proving little more than a bureaucratic paper chase.