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Depot quiz brings new hope for London hauliers By...
Page 57
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N IMPORTANT initiative by the Greater London Council offers some hope to the many road hauliers operating from inadequate premises. The Council has asked the Road Haulage Association for help in distributing a questionnaire designed to reveal the extent of the problem.
Before the GLC can estimate the areas of pressure and hence the land requirements for the future they require to know how many road haulage depots are in use in London, their size, and number of vehicles using them.
Many road hauliers, of course, are not RHA members. I understand that Metropolitan traffic area engineers have been liaising with the GLC for some time on this acute depot premises problem—a number of Section 178 inquiries have highlighted the difficulties.
The survey questionnaire asks firms to list the address and area of each depot including buildings and the number of vehicles and trailers based there. The type of work undertaken, e.g. tipper or multi-bucket haulage, furniture removals, general trunk haulage, is specified and questions are asked as to the garaging of vehicles whether at the haulier's depot or at public lorry park, customers' premises or "elsewhere".
"Elsewhere" in many cases means the street or public road or layby; hauliers completing the form need have no fear that the information supplied will lead to action by any other body or individual, for an assurance is given that "details supplied will be treated in full confidence.
I understand that the GLC would hope to include advice on the broad principles of planning action in relation to road transport depots—and many other matters—in an approach to borough councils next February.
The GLC is the strategic planning authority for London and if the response from the boroughs was not in line with the County Hall approach there is provision for arbitration jointly with the Minister of Housing and Local Government.
Clearly, much time would have to elapse before any disputes were resolved at national level, but in view of present GLC land holdings, not to mention the considerable areas of land that are becoming available as road schemes and industrial estates and blighted areas are developed, there seems good reason to think that road hauliers in acute difficulties with premises may soon find their accommodation problems solved.