Surrey's own bans
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THE BUILDING of break-bulk depots and haulage depots in the Surrey area of the M25 perimeter would be strongly opposed by Surrey County Council, said Tony Bolden, its chief transportation planner.
"One of the repercussions of a ban on heavy goods vehicles is that industries, haulage companies and distributors would seek to operate from locational bases close to the administrative boundary," Mr Bolden pointed out. "We would be against this for the reason that the motorway should become a corridor for movement and not a cause for the relocation of commercial activities."
The county council would have to consider introducing bans if the London weight limits went ahead, he added. These would take the form of restrictions on lorry movements and parking in the Surrey area, or limiting lorry routes within the area of the County between the M25 and the Greater London administrative boundary. "This would protect sensitive environmental areas and local communities," Mr Bolden explained.
Bans upon heavy vehicles in London would also seem to run counter to the approved regional strategy for London and the South East, in which one of the key elements is the regeneration of Inner London, he added. "Industry depends heavily on road transport, and it would be imprudent to expect rail and water to provide more than a marginal shift in the total transport of goods," he said.
The long-term effect of such a ban must be to encourage the relocation of industry outside London and to increase "development pressures" on the adjoining counties, Mr Bolden predicted.