Southampton HGV ban plan
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• Southampton City Council plans to ban trucks of 7.5 tonnes and above from the city centre between 11.00pin and 7.00am and all day Sunday.
Southampton already operates an overnight parking ban. Now the council wants to extend that ban to "reduce the effect of increased lorry traffic which many residents feel is eroding the quality of their environment".
The Western Approach would be exempt from the ban — but this would not give operators access to the east.
Paul Cook, transport manager with Southampton-based LTS Freight of Southampton says: "To get to Portsmouth for the ferry we will have to go more than 20km out of our way. That's a 40km return journey at least five times a day. There will be some operators with centres in the middle of the ban area who will not be able to move any vehicles during the ban period.'' The Road Haulage Association estimates at least 15 hauliers have operating centres within the ban's boundaries. Southampton operator Harline Transport warns it will find the ban unworkable: "We need to start around 4.00am not 7.00am, otherwise we will not be able to move all our loads," says director Bob Nunn.
The Freight Transport Association says: "If the ban goes ahead a lot of companies will become uncompetitive and eventually several smaller operators could be forced out of business."
Southampton City Council predicts that the ban could be operational by the end of the year.
At present only emergency and public utility vehicles are promised exemption from the truck ban, and the council warns that very strong arguments would be needed to make other classes of vehicle exempt.