Armitage in peril
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IT IS a tragedy that the Armitage package is in danger of being lost in a "smokescreen of ill-informed statements" from the anti-lorry lobby, Freight Transport Association president Len Payne said in Scotland this week.
Speaking at Bothwell in Lanarkshire, Mr Payne said that the Armitage package is designed to aid both the environment and the economy, and stated that the statements are coming from "opponents of the lorry who have clearly not taken the trouble to read the report".
He went on to say that the FTA agreed with Armitage's conclusion that the implementation of the report, especially the introduction of heavier lorries, would bring large cost-savings to British industry and improve the environment.
Mr Payne stated that not only would Armitage's proposals mean no risk of increased wear on roads or bridges, but they would in fact mean less damage than occurs at present.
And in Bury St Edmunds this week, Road Haulage Association national chairman Ken Rogers said that if any single measure of the Armitage Report is to be implemented, it should be the increase in vehicle weights.
He was critical of the Parliamentary debate — "if one can call it that" — on the Report, and said: "The final timing of the House of Commons discussion came as something of a surprise to everyone, including ourselves.
"It is with some alarm that we note that virtually all the Commons debate concentrated on just one of the 58 Armitage recommendations — the one on heavier lorries. From the first debate it seems that much of the point of the Armitage findings have been lost."
Mr Rogers predicted that it is not the increased vehicle weights issue that is likely to be adopted, but the "ill-advised proposal" to increase taxation.