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Abbey Hill gets the Green light
Page 27
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• Abbey Hill Vehicle Services has been successful in a bid to increase the size of its fleet at its Slip End, Luton depot, and to ease restrictions on the times at which maintenance can be carried out there.
The company had applied to Eastern Licensing Authority Brigadier Compton Boyd to increase the authorisation at Slip End — from 25 vehicles and trailers to 35 vehicles and trailers — and to increase by two hours the time during the evening when maintenance could be carried out. Eight neighbouring residents made environmental representations. None appeared at the public inquiry, but referred to nuisance from noise, pollution from diesel fumes, and traffic congestion, in their letters.
Traffic examiner Robert Tiller said there were no problems over size and safety. However, heavy vehicles, other than those of Abbey Hill and two other car transporter firms based at the site, passed through the village.
Fleet engineer Gary Greenaway said the company required the extra two hours' maintenance in the evening to be able to introduce a two-shift system, working between 06:00 and 14:00hrs and between 14:00 and 22:00hrs. The policy was only to purchase air suspension vehicles and trailers, and 75% of the fleet now had air suspension. That, plus the 100 move over to soft webbing tie-downs instead of chains, had done away with a lot of noise.
Evidence was given by an Abbey Hill driver that during the seven years he had worked for the company, he was unaware of any accident involving its vehicles in the area.
David Bishop, logistics executive of Vauxhall Motors, said that without the Slip End site, the expansion his company had experienced in the past year or so would not have been possible.
Don Crossland, Slip End manager of Distribution Deliveries, said that none of his company's vehicles or drivers had been involved in any incident in the surrounding area. Similar evidence was given by Toleman's Slip End depot manager, Kenneth Har ris. He said that resurfacing the access road had cut the noise considerably.
For Abbbey Hill, Colin Ward said it was a long-running saga. The residents had done little to help themselves, as they had not taken up the suggestion at a previous public inquiry (CM 22-28 September 1988) to get together to talk with the operators.
Granting the application, Brigadier Boyd said that he attached no weight to the representations. He found it very significant that there was no local authority objections, and it was clear that Abbey Hill was as environmentally conscious as it could be.