Borough’s mini-LEZs anger freight body

FREIGHT

The Freight Transport Association has criticised the London boroughs of Hackney for pressing ahead with ultra-low emission vehicle zones, saying they amount to a lorry ban and will damage local businesses.

From next week only vehicles emitting less than 75g CO2/km and local permit holders will be permitted access to areas of Hoxton and Shoreditch between 07.00-10.00 and 16.00-19.00 Monday to Friday (LTT-3 Apr). 

Denise Beedell, the FTA’s  policy manager for vans and urban, said: “This new scheme is effectively a ban on HGVs, given that there is currently no availability of these types of vehicles on the market or even a definition of an ultra-low emission truck (ULET).” She added: “It is a real shame that Hackney did not engage with us at the earliest stages of developing this scheme as we could have helped them avoid these pitfalls.”