T Cox moves to escape lams
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• An Eastbourne-based newsprint distributor is to relocate its operation with the loss of up to 30 drivers' jobs because it says local traffic congestion is making it uncompetitive.
T Cox and Sons is to move most of its operations to its Tonbridge depot to take advantage of a better road network and lower running costs.
The family business, which has been running out of Eastbourne for more than 40 years, has a fleet of 30 panel vans and trucks delivering newspapers and magazines in East Sussex and west Kent.
Director Richard Piper says job losses are inevitable because many of the staff do not want to relocate: "We could have stayed in Eastbourne if the roads in and out were better," he says, "but new schemes linking the area to the M25 were scrapped by the Government in the road spending cuts and that makes it almost impossible to remain competitive. Margins are getting tighter and the move will enable us to do quicker and more efficient distributions and offer cheaper prices."
47 The British Road Federation says road schemes being shelved will have serious effects on local economies and jobs. "Cutting money for road spending is crazy and situations like this will become increasingly common as the effects of the Government's road spending cuts really kick in," it says.