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STRIKING A BALANCE
Page 34
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A common misconception is that traffic generated by an operating centre on the local road network is a legitimate reason to object.
If you are running a warehouse operation, for example, the Commissioner has no control over the number of vehicles running in and out of it. Earlier this year, South Eastern & Metropolitan Deputy IC Christopher Heaps said this was generally regarded as a loophole in the law.
In an inquiry involving Woking-based Pinks Hill Stone Centre, Heaps agreed with both the county council and local residents that the access road to the operating centre was too narrow for its lorries, yet he still removed the weight restrictions from the 0-licence. "If it is of any comfort to the residents, Traffic Commissioners have been calling for a number of years for a change in the law to enable them to consider the suitability of the local highway network, but the government has not seen fit to act upon our recommendations," he commented.
Lawyer Chris Over says another misconception is that hauliers have a right to carry on operating in a particular way simply because their operating centre is long-established. "That in itself will not mean they can continue."
A typical example of this would be when houses are built near a long-established operating centre. "The commissioner has to do a balancing act between the needs of the business against those of the people who haven't been there that long."