đź•’ Article read time: 3 minutes
TfL suspends its HGV scrappage scheme after less than a month
Transport for London has suspended its HGV scrappage scheme after less than a month, owing to high demand from transport operators.
In September, the new TfL scheme saw small businesses or charities with HGVs being invited to apply for grants of £15,000 to replace or retrofit their vehicles. This followed the first phase of the scrappage scheme which committed enough support to take up to 5,000 polluting vans and minibuses off London’s roads. The new phase of the scrappage scheme was designed to help prepare operators of HGVs prepare for tougher Low Emission Zone standards that will come into force from 1 March 2021.
The HGV scheme offered grants of £15,000 to scrap a heavy vehicle and replace it with a more compliant vehicle, or to retrofit diesel vehicles up to the cleanest Euro VI standards. The scheme operated on a first-come, first-served basis and only those businesses and charities that applied early in the process were successful in receiving a grant from the limited funding available.
Denise Beedell, Policy Manager for Vans and Urban at Logistics UK, said: “Logistics UK welcomed the introduction of the heavy vehicle scrappage scheme in September 2020 as it would help businesses prepare their fleets for the tightening of the London Low Emission Zone in March 2021. The fact that allocated funding for the scheme has run out so soon after its launch due to high demand demonstrates the real determination from logistics businesses to transition to cleaner vehicles and upgrade their fleets in time. We hope that government will support Transport for London with additional funding to extend the scheme or consider alternative options to help those due to be hit hardest by the air quality scheme, including businesses based within the London-wide Low Emission Zone area and operators of specialist vehicles.”
At the launch of the scheme in September, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, said: “While we’re doing all we can in the capital, we now need the government to match our levels of ambition and provide targeted national scrappage funding that supports all those small businesses who want to do the right thing and switch to cleaner vehicles across the UK.”
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayorlaunches-heavy-vehicle-scrappage-scheme
Published On: 22/10/2020 15:00:13
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In brief
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
Logistics UK continues urge its members to ensure that they and their customers prepare as much as possible for the new trading conditions the industry will face at the end of the Brexit transition period. A brand-new supply chain in border readiness documents will need to work effectively from day one if disruption is to be avoided. Elizabeth de Jong, Director of Policy at Logistics UK, said: “Time is of the essence, so Logistics UK has written to Michael Gove to urge the work to be accelerated.”
https://logistics.org.uk/media/press-releases/2020/october-2020/logistics-uk-comment-on-government-s-time-is-runni
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