That’s the warning delivered to London’s mayoral candidates by the Freight Transport Association, which yesterday (23 March) delivered its London Elections 2016 Freight Manifesto to the candidates.
The document was accompanied by a box of 34 trucks to illustrate how many commercial vehicles it would take to build and furnish one average-sized three bedroom house.
“FTA’s manifesto emphasises that freight is always only used when there is a purpose,” says FTA chief executive David Wells. “Construction is a great example of this – London apparently needs 59,000 new homes built every year. It is clear that you cannot get this done without the use of lorries to supply the building and fitting of them.”
The association is also urging the candidates to avoid simplistic blanket approaches such as HGV bans, saying that such a policy would massively increase the cost of doing business in London – especially construction – without achieving the safety gains assumed.
The FTA says more than 360,000 tonnes of goods are delivered in the capital by lorry each day.
Click the link below to download a copy of the FTA manifesto.