;LC ban: back in cour
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FRESH court battle is nit to break out over the ore of the Greater London uncel's night and weekend ry ban.
['his has been prompted by insport Secretary Nicholas Iley's decision to exempt ikm of roads from the ban Len the Department of insport takes over responility for them on April 1. Die Labour-controlled Asiation of London Authori which is strongest in Cr London, believes that dley is exceeding his wers and one of its memr councils, Islington, is onning to challenge this ove at an early date.
slington feels particularly ;ricved by Ridley's move !hout making an order bese Upper Street, part of Al, is affected. South adon boroughs arc affected the exemption of the A205 ath Circular.
lie lorry ban's return to In, following the GLC's des with Ridley in the irts last year, comes as your councillors arc makit an issue at forthcoming rough council elections. GLC transport committee chair Dave Wetzel, the ban's political architect, says: "The night fime noise levels in London will be decided at the local elections in May.
-It is clear from the opposition of the Government, the Conservative London boroughs and even Toni McNally, a leading member of the SDP, that Londoners will have to decide with their votes if the capital is to remain quieter at night and weekends," he claimed.
McNally is director-general of the Retail Consortium and director of the British Retailers Association.
Wetzel has accused Ridley of "shooting his party in the foot" by removing the ban from the exempt routes and says that of the six boroughs on the South Circular, only Conservative-controlled Wandsworth favours the trunking move.
Wetzel claims that it will be a "very big issue" in the May 8 local elections. If Wandsworth and Liberalcontrolled Richmond go Labour, the boroughs could consider together a way of bringing the A205 back into the ban, he said.
• Operators wanting ban exemption permits after April should apply to the new temporary ban administration body, the London Residuary Body.
The address is: The Controller of Transportation and Development (Ref TD/TP/POL/XP), Greater London Council, The County Hall, London SEI 7PB. Or operators can ring 01-633 6435, 7522 or 7469.