The House of Commons Transport Committee has advised the government to hold a round-table discussion with road hauliers and local authorities to identify and then disseminate innovate ways of dealing with conflicts between delivery needs and parking controls.
The Freight Transport Association argued the case for the round table when it gave evidence to the committee’s inquiry into Local Authority Parking Enforcement in England.
James Hookham, the FTA’s managing director of policy and communications, said: “We told the Transport Committee that the Traffic Management Act was in need of fundamental review; the Committee’s recommendation to the Government to hold a roundtable discussion with road hauliers and local authorities has to be a step in the right direction.
“While reducing congestion is important, there needs to be a balance, and good provision for deliveries is essential to support local businesses.”
Hookham also raised the issue of penalty charge notices arguing that: “No operator sets out to deliberately contravene the restrictions on parking, but the lack of adequate provision means that delivery vehicles have little choice but to stop on restricted routes to gain access to adjacent premises, and become ‘easy pickings’ for enforcement officers.
“The law needs to be clarified to distinguish between ‘parking’ and ‘delivery and servicing activity’.”
