councillors will be asked to decide.
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Several Labour councillors, including committee chair Dave Wetzel, wanted last weekend's meeting to press for earlier preparation of weekend and night ban orders, even as soon as this week, but legal advisers said this was impossible.
And committee vice-chair Paul Moore urged caution, saying it would be unwise to raise false expectations. Hasty action, leading to a legal challenge, would delay action which many GLC councillors wished to see.
The matter was put more bluntly by another Labour councillor, Peter Dawe, who said: "We do not want to mess this up like Fares Fair [the fares subsidies ruled illegal by the House of Lords]."
Councillors want their intention to control lorries to be taken seriously, and believe they must start now if they are to achieve any bans before 1986. Its officers say that any ban, including the night and weekend proposal, would be introduced early in 1985 at the earliest, or by mid1986 if there is an inquiry into the proposal.
The general view is that a night ban would impose the least economic penalty on transport operators and on industry in general, while giving maximum relief to residents of areas with lorry traffic. Councillors cite the ban on night flying at Heathrow Airport as a precedent to be followed for lorries.
The detailed officers' report will look at the effects a ban would have on the area surrounding the ban, and on parts of surrounding counties within the M25. It will also establish what exemptions may be possible, notably for vehicles serving Smithfield and New Covent Garden markets.
Officers will look subsequently at the possibility of general bans on lorries at all times of the day, and — rather surprisingly — have been instructed to take no further action on the planned 50sq mile 7.5-tonne weight limit in Enfield and Barnet, North London.
The committee had been expected by many to go ahead with this ban, as it would have no precedent for the future of the Wood proposals, and had some Conservative support, but the committee wants a decision to be deferred until More detailed studies of strategic bans are complete.
Immediate reaction of Transport Secretary Tom King last Wednesday was to wait until he saw more detail from the GLC. He would need to consider the implications for trunk roads in Greater London, and hoped the GLC would be prepared to discuss it with him.
Wood Inquiry panellist Keith Buchan, who is environmental pressure group Transport 2000's director, told CM: "I think the GLC has made the right decision to further investigate the possibilities of a night-time ban. This part of the report was agreed by the whole panel."