Manchester: Northern Powerhouse
In his first post-election speech George Osborne has set out plans for English cities are to be offered devolution over transport.
Greater Manchester – which will take on the powers when electing a mayor in two years – could become a blueprint for other large cities.
Following the announcement, the FTA stated their belief that “Transport rules and regulations should be the same across all UK cities when it comes to delivering goods.”
Funding to improve transport within our cities is vital and any commitment in that direction is to be welcomed – cities rely on thousands of tonnes of freight brought every single day to continue to function and the more efficiently it moves, the more you reduce the cost of living or of doing business.
Christopher Snelling – FTA Head of Urban Logistics and Regional Policy said: “Government and proposed new authorities should ensure that operators of freight do not have to face differing rules and regulations in order to deliver goods in different cities.”
Mr Snelling added: “FTA has concerns over the future role of elected Mayors in these authorities. Personality politics can lead to actions led by political image concerns rather than good policy making processes.”
A Cities Devolution Bill will be in the Queen’s Speech later this month.
