LOCAL INTERFERENCE
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II "We employ a lot of people and have not been treated fairly," Considering how it has suffered at the hands of successive local councils it's difficult not to sympathise with South London haulier A&J Bull (see pages 4-5). Originally promised an improved road link to its depot, it now appears to be losing out to local politics.
On the face of it Bull has a strong case. The road link it wants the council to build to its depot would stop local residents being bothered by large goods vehicles. At a time when more and more hauliers are being hamstrung by environmental restrictions on their licences it must make sense to adopt a proposal that clearly satisfies both the local residents and the local haulier.
So what's stopping the local Labour council from building that link? Could it be yet another case of a road haulier being regarded as a second-class citizen by a local council? The final insult, however, looks like being the ''alternative route" under consideration. That could mean knocking down houses — the original link road was across wasteland.
Small wonder that the decision to refuse the original link road is described by Conservative MP Angela Rum bold as a ''disaster".
Meanwhile the council seems to think that the ball is back in Bull's court. Faced with the loss of a business providing jobs For 400 locals it says that while it does not want to see jobs go ", the decision is up to Bull — if the site becomes vacant it could be used by another employer."
Don't those Labour councillors know there's a recession on? Have they forgotten those Tory posters proclaiming "Labour isn't working"? Given those two facts you'd think they'd be falling over backwards to keep local businesses and wage earners happy.
PS — CM 's phone code changes on 24 February to 081-652.