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'Goods will cost more in Manchester than anywhere else' - firms

Alan Salter
25/ 4/2008

GREATER Manchester’s economy could be hit by congestion charging and business could go elsewhere, the haulage industry has warned.

The warning follows last week's revelations in The Advertiser that concessions could be offered to HGVs travelling into the city centre if the controversial congestion charge is imposed.

The leaders of the bid for the government’s £3bn Transport Innovation Fund are about to decide what they will want to charge he thousands of lorry and van drivers. And it looks increasingly likely the charge could be as much as £6 instead of the much trumpeted £5 originally announced.

At a meeting arranged by Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Edna Gill, of the Road Haulage Association, told city council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein: "We are still appealing for goods to be travelled free of charge".

Sir Howard who is leading the bid on behalf of Greater Manchester’s 10 councils, told the hauliers that, whatever the charge, they would benefit from there being fewer cars on the road.

But Ms Gill said: "With all the road space taken up by bus lanes, tram tracks and extra buses, we do not feel there will be any more room.

"And if there is a charge as well, the price of every job will have to go up.

"All goods in Manchester will end up costing more in Manchester than in other cities and the economy could actually slow down.

"Car drivers can choose public transport but hauliers don’t have any choice.

She added. "Not only do they have to drive but, very often, they have to be at certain places at specific times and cannot change to miss the congestion period." And Sir Howard was warned by a top transport lawyer that the charge could also lead to some hauliers cutting corners on maintenance and drivers’ hours.

Ian Jones, a managing director of specialist transport solicitors, said the policy could lead to more accidents.

Richard Critchley of the Manchester Chamber, of Commerce, said: "The hauliers appreciated being kept up to date but, although they got the impression that there might be some concessions, there were no promises."

A spokesman for the bid said: "This was one of a series of meetings with stakeholders.

"It was not a public relations exercise, we want information from them to help us shape our plans."

Greater Manchester has bid for £3bn of public transport spending in return for a peak-hour congestion charge.

The bid has split politicians and the business community, with three of the 10 councils in the region saying they will not vote for it, even if the government agrees to hand over the cash.

A fourth, Bolton, has pledged to hold a mini-referendum before making a final decision.

At least seven out of 10 councils must back the bid.

The government decision is expected to announce early in May whether Greater Manchester has won the cash next month. Senior sources are confident ministers will say yes.