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Transport for massive new wind farms looks set to be done by foreign hauliers, thanks to a disputed loophole in EU law.
The Road Haulage Association is calling on government to stop contracts given to Danish and Spanish transport firms that have no licence to operate trucks in the UK.
Large components will be made in Spain and Denmark and sent by sea to ports around the country. Once landed in the UK, foreign trucks will transport them to the wind farms. Hundreds of abnormal load movements are involved, all carried under special regulations as the load cannot be moved on a conventional 44-tonne articulated lorry.
Normally, to undertake haulage in the UK, the haulier must have to have a UK operating licence or, in the case of foreign operators, be operating under cabotage* regulations. But there is a loophole. The Combined Transport Directive, 106/92.
Set up almost 20 years ago to encourage firms to develop coastal shipping between countries rather than go by road, the directive was never intended for transport to islands such as the UK, where there is no road link; this includes the Channel Tunnel rail link.
"This is a massive mis-use of the Combined Transport Directive", said RHA Director of Policy Jack Semple. "British transport companies are heavily regulated for road safety purposes. They have the expertise and equipment to do the job. It is scandalous that the wind power sector should be by-passing them to bring in foreign companies that operate without a UK licence.
"We are calling on the Department for Transport's enforcement agency, VOSA, to block the operation on the grounds that the Combined Transport Directive was not intended for this sort of operation and does not apply.
"We will also be raising the issue again in Brussels and setting out a strong case. The Combined Transport Directive is inappropriate in respect of islands to which there is no road link and we are pressing Brussels to clarify or amend the Directive to recognise that fact.
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