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; op cordon plea
Page 7
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joiiit appeal has gone out to Transport iniSter Norman Fowler from the eig t Transport Association and the )ad Haulage Association. They want m t use his special powers to stop the ind$or Cordon.
Th two associations ask the Minister e rcise his powers under the Road -affic Regulations Act 1967 and prohibit ?.rkShire County Council from making ?rmanent the lorry ban in Windsor. /hi e the RHA and FTA say they -eluctantly accepted" the experiment, ley strongly oppose the order for its ermanancy. In their support they quote he Transport and Road Research ab ratory and Berkshire's own appraials which show the scheme to be ou ter-productive.
P inting out that the scheme is costing 0.5 a year in increased direct operating ost alone, they say it produces no ig licant benefit. Even the County :ou cil's own report admits this. The 7I'A and the RHA say the County Coun:11 is "flying in the face of their own nridence and that of the TRRL".
Appealing to Mr Fowler to step in and ;top the ban, the letter emphasises that the appeal is not challenging the legality of the Windsor cordon ban — it is solely on practical grounds that the ban should be lifted. The associations also make plain their fears that the ban is setting a precedent for other local authorities.
Ironically, news of the scrapping of the similar lorry ban in Usk, South Wales broke this week.
Gwent County Council has stopped its experimental ban on lorries over three tons unladen from entering the town. The ban will be lifted next February at the end of the year-long experimental period.
FTA has applauded what it calls this "bold but difficult decision". It had estimated that the Usk ban was costing hauliers £0.2m a year, and was merely creating fresh and costly environmental pressures.
An FTA spokesman recognised the value of the Usk decision to lift the lorry ban, and the influence it could have on other authorities who may have been set to follow Berkshire County Council. Said the spokesman: "The answer lies in investment in an adequate road network, not lorry bans."