Law Lords to rule on LBTC hush kits
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• The tussle over whether London local authorities can force hauliers travelling in the capital to fit air brake silencers reached a climax this week.
On Tuesday, the London Boroughs Transport Committee, which administers the London Lorry Ban, took the battle to the highest court in the land, the House of Lords,.
The LBTC wants operators who take trucks through the capital using lorry ban permits to be forced to fit air brake silencers and hush kits.
But the Road Haulage Association and Freight Transport Association say that such a requirement can only be made under Construction and Use Regulations and those rules can only be changed by Government — not by local authorities.
The road haulage industry won the previous round of the fight last July, when Court of Appeal judges ruled that the LBTC had gone beyond its powers in its interpretation of the lorry ban, which affects 40,000 trucks.
The judges ruled that it was "clear beyond argument that European Community law precludes any attempt to prevent the use of a vehicle which satisfies the requirements of the relevant EC regulations".
This week the Law Lords will decide whether to back the Appeal Court decision, ending a dispute that has been dragging on since the LBTC introduced Condition 11 in 1988.
"The fundamental issue is whether a local authority can decide its own Construction and Use Regs," says FTA roads and traffic chief Don McIntyre.