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DoE is 'soft-soaping' transport
Page 24
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• Mr Geoffrey Rippon, the Environment Secretary, has been accused of "softsoaping" the transport industry. The attack has been made by Mr Tom ,Llewellyn, the chairman of the Teesside sub-area of the RHA and managing director of Econofreight of Thornaby.
Mr Llewellyn has made the attack following the DoE's recommendations to local authorities to restrict the movement of heavy vehicles in towns and cities. The recommendations, says Mr Llewellyn, were "full of contradictions".
Mr Rippon urged local authorities to use their powers to restrict heavy lorry movement but at the same time said that if vehicles were prohibited alternative routes had to be made available. Coming at a time when the Government had just made a cut-back in road construction by £100m Mr Rippon's remarks just did not make sense, said Mr Llewellyn.
According to the Minister, 250 towns in England with a population greater than 10,000 would be relieved of through traffic by the end of the 1980s. But, argues Mr Llewellyn, what the Minister really meant was that in 17 years' time less than half of the 550 towns with a population of more than 10,000 still would be without by-passes. "In other words, the Minister is just soft-soaping the industry."
Mr Rippon had said earlier this year, recalled Mr Llewellyn, that the road users would immensely benefit from the new high-speed inter-urban roads, and such benefits must not be dissipated by unnecessary restrictions on access for collection and delivery. There were numerous streets and residential roads from which heavy through traffic should be excluded.
Mr Llewellyn said the RHA agreed with both statements. "Where we do disagree is over the rate of progress in achieving road improvements. More money must be spent on our rural roads." Mr Llewellyn added: "Comprehensive road plans are vitally necessary to remove the conflict between the lorry and the public. The savage £100m cut in the national rural expenditure programme should be waived and a massive new road works programme immediately started."