lauliers cool on EZ
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■ ULAGE stands to gain as much as any other industry from Government's proposed enterprise zones (EZs) in dossed areas, but there is little sign of interest from opera
s, reports ALAN MILLAR. The Government plans to ate seven zones under the -;al Government (Planning
i Land) Bill which is due to :eive the Royal Assent by vember. They will be in Bel t, Clydebank, Swansea, eke, Manchester, New;tle / Gateshead, and ldon's Isle of Dogs. A few re are in the pipeline, with as like Bilston, Sheffield, and 'by being considered by the Dartment of the Environment. Anyone planning to set up ;iness in the designated areas 1 be granted exemption from ielopment land tax, and all on industrial and commer1 property. There will also be 0 per cent capital aliances on commercial and ustrial buildings.
They would also benefit from iplified planning procedures,
exempt from the need for lustrial development cer-Ates and from the industrial ining board requirements,
be granted requirements, I be granted faster Customs ilities.
On the face of it, this could ve very attractive to hauliers, the Labour Party has cornined about EZs being littered h container parks, haulage cls, and warehouses. The 3d Haulage Association's row :h the Road Transport In;try Training Board must inase the attraction.
According to the Department the Environment, there is no son why hauliers cannot set business in an EZ. They will I be subject to health, safety
i pollution regulations, but a ikesman told CM: -Anybody ;ommerce can apply to move and hauliers should keep ir ears to the ground to see at they can gain.
The Department of Transport s it sees no reason to fear that Operator licensing could be undermined by EZs. Potential operators will still have to satisfy all safety and legal requirements.
But there is less sign of operators being in a rush to take advantage of the EZs. An RHA spokesman told CM that it welcomes anything which frees companies to work in an -unfettered and productive way", but said it was concerned that hauliers could lose as much as they gain from an area n which competition can arise overnight.
And RHA Northern area secretary Denis Le Conte said that his members are too concerned about how to survive without looking to new areas for business, even if they are cheaper ones to operate in. "I don't see a great rush." The Freight Transport Association takes a similarly cautious attitude, saying that it fears EZ authorities could be unwilling to accept transport operators who employ fewer people per square foot than manufacturers.
That is of less concern to Scottish Development Agency Clydebank Task Force development officer Paul Smith who told CM that several transport and warehousing businesses have expressed interest in his area.
He says there is no reason why hauliers could not be based in Clydebank, provided that the disadvantage of its location away from motorways could be balanced against the lower costs of the site. "We are prepared to accept non-manufacturing industry. We are not concerned about what they do, as long as they bring in jobs:. he said.