The Freight Transport Association has spoken out about disruption to the M1 this week, saying the risks of building a potentially flammable site so close to a motorway should have been properly assessed at the planning stage.
Commercial vehicle operations to London have encountered inevitable delays which will have seen their transport costs increase, along with road congestion. The FTA estimates that a lorry stuck in traffic can cost its operator over £50 per hour.
Malcolm Bingham, the FTA’s head of road network management policy, said: “This incident brings into sharp focus the need for planning decisions to be made with full consideration of the impact that could be made on essential infrastructure. Such decisions should not be made at a purely local level and in splendid isolation.
“Our concern is that the government’s localism agenda may mean we see the damaging consequences of further poor planning decisions in the future.”
FTA has voiced concerns about the Localism Bill, claiming the needs of national transport infrastructure could be overruled by local, peripheral concerns.
