Wyre Forest MP welcomes road levy on foreign HGVs (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Wyre Forest MP welcomes road levy on foreign HGVs

7:20am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News

WYRE Forest’s MP has welcomed the new law to make foreign HGVs pay a levy to use British roads.

The HGV Road User Levy Bill has received Royal Assent and passed into law. Until now, foreign-registered HGVs did not pay to use Britain’s road network but UK-registered HGVs paid charges or tolls in most European countries.

Conservative Mark Garnier said: ‘This is good news for local haulage companies in Wyre Forest, which will now be put on equal footing with foreign companies.

“In Britain, we see foreign lorries on our roads all the time but they haven’t had to pay anything to use our roads. But when British lorries drive abroad, they face charges and tolls. For example, a large HGV pays between €25 and €46 for a 100-mile autobahn journey in Germany.

“I am pleased to see the Government finally righting that wrong and from now on Britain will benefit from the foreign lorries on our road, adding up to £23 million a year to the British economy.”

Roads Minister Stephen Hammond said: “Every year, there are around 1.5 million trips to the UK by foreign-registered lorries but none of them pays to use our roads, leaving UK businesses and taxpayers to foot the bill.

“In contrast, when UK hauliers travel abroad, then, in most cases, they have to pay to use the roads.

“This new Act will help the UK logistics industry remain competitive by making sure that operators from abroad are paying towards the cost of building and maintaining the UK’s roads as well as creating a level playing field for domestic operators.”