Truck ban plan for Sowerby Bridge
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by Lee Kimber • Hauliers face a ban on Sowerby Bridge after Calderdale Council agreed to support residents who want trucks weighing over 75 tonnes
prohibited from a six-mile stretch of the A58 and A672.
The decision follows two years of pressure from residents who fear another disaster in the wake of the tragedy in 1993, when a Fewston Transport tipper went out of control, killing six.
The council is contacting interested parties including The Road Haulage Association for their views on the effects of a ban, which would extend from Junction 22 of the M62 to the town. "We don't want to penalise local businesses," it says. "The intention is to stop longer distance transport leaving the motorway."
Consultation and a survey of why trucks use the roads is likely to take at least two months and legal procedures would delay any ban until next April.
RHA northern region area manager Margaret Edmunds plans to oppose the move. "We have to make sure that people appreciate that it's all very well to he emotive about these things," she says, "but what happens when the local shop needs bread delivered?"