Mr. Ronald W. Brownasked the Minister of Transport if he intends to change the maximum vehicle weights of juggernauts travelling in the United Kingdom, in the light of the environmental 240W pollution prevalent in Hackney South and Shoreditch and elsewhere at present due to the heavy concentration of existing vehicles of current weighting.
§ Mr. FowlerThe specific issue of maximum vehicle weights, together with the environmental impact of lorries generally, will be considered by the independent inquiry which I announced to the House on 22 May in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Mr. Rhodes James).—[Vol. 907, c. 108].
Mr. Ronald W. Brownasked the Minister of Transport, in the light of the recent serious accident in Graham Road, Hackney South, due to the severe increase in the number of juggernauts using the road and the high risk to families living there, if he will initiate immediate talks with the London borough of Hackney and the Greater London Council to determine an urgent solution to the problem.
§ Mr. FowlerI very much regret this accident, but the GLC is the highway and traffic authority for this road and it will be for it to pursue with the London borough of Hackney how best to tackle the problems of lorries in this area.
§ Mr. John Grantasked the Minister of Transport what steps he will take to safeguard the environment from the consequences of proposals to increase the permitted maximum weight of heavy lorries.
§ Mr. FowlerThis is an issue which I hope will be fully examined by the independent inquiry which I announced to the House on 22 May in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Mr. Rhodes James).—[Vol. 967, c. 108.]