Kent wants duty free fuelling zone
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
KENT COUNTY Council wants to build a fuel station for foreign LGVs within a duty-free zone at Dover Port so that extra revenue can be raised alongside a Lorry Road User Charge (LRUC).
Council leader Paul Carter’s suggestion comes as he also demands money generated from the forthcoming LRUC is siphoned off for the council to maintain its road infrastructure. “A signiicant amount of money can now be raised,” he says of the LRUC. “But if we can’t get a cast-iron guarantee that money will be given back to the councils that pay to ix the damage caused by foreign trucks, then it achieves nothing.” A council spokesman adds that it has a substantial budget for roads maintenance and it wants to ensure there “is a comeback from the money raised. It costs us a lot of money in Kent with lorries going down rural roads”.
He says: “Carter is suggesting why not have a fuelling station in a duty-free zone in Dover, and we get some beneit from tax revenue? Potentially, there’s quite a lot of money to be made.” The Department for Transport says the primary objective of its LRUC proposal is to ensure a fairer arrangement for UK hauliers and that its scheme will raise only “some revenue”.
A consultation on the LRUC is open until 18 April. See: www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-03/