HGVs get year reprieve from Manchester C-charge

It was recently announced that UK hauliers will not be obliged to pay the Manchester C-charge while a study into its impact on freight is carried out.

The concession itself, which will probably last twelve months, came about after feedback from the industry during the consultation process and pressure from the Road Haulage Association (RHA). Geoff Dunning, Northern Director at the RHA, has been working with the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) – and Dunning managed to get an agreement that HGVs are not the same as cars. In addition to this, Dunning says:

“At the outset, we were told that cars and HGVs are all traffic and would therefore be treated the same. Getting Manchester to recognise that HGVs are different and thus react to different issues is definitely a positive step.”

Last week, AGMA decided to defer payment for HGVs for the first year of the scheme, but only if it gets the go-ahead following a referendum next month. James Wilkinson, Managing Director at Austin Wilkinson & Sons, says:

“HGVs, not only in Greater Manchester – but practically all over the country, should indeed be supported to promote a reduction of general inflation, whereas another tax, no matter how it is imposed, only puts up the price of goods for the consumer.”

Moreover, Mike Lyons, Group Finance Director at AK Worthington, adds:

“AGMA had previously said that the reduced congestion would improve our journey times by 30-40%, but there is no evidence of that.”