Closing M48 Severn Bridge to HGVs 'devastating' for hauliers
Hauliers say that a decision to ban heavy goods vehicles from the M48 Severn Bridge could be "devastating" for their businesses.The ban will come into force for at least 18 months from 27 May after National Highways discovered the cables supporting the structure are deteriorating.A director of an Avonmouth-based haulage company warned the alternative route into Wales via the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge is not always reliable, and drivers could be forced to take lengthy detours around Gloucester.National Highways said it has "no choice" but to impose weight limits in the interest of public safety, and that it was looking for a long-term solution to allow HGVs to return "in a controlled manner".
It is currently proposing a "technological solution" that will manage the flow of HGVs over the bridge to prevent overloading it.
Jamie Burton, director of M&J Transport, told BBC Radio Bristol the impact of the Prince of Wales Bridge shutting due to a a crash or poor weather "would be devastating" once HGVs can no longer use the Severn crossing."They've not put any plans or any thought into what's going to happen when it gets busy in the summer, or if there's any closures. The cost to the industry and the cost to us personally would be immense," he said.Caroline Tovey of Richard Tovey Transport pointed out that even when the Prince of Wales Bridge is open, it still adds a 14-mile detour onto journeys.
She added some areas may find "large vehicles being rerouted through their communities"."It isn't just about the money, it's about infrastructure that isn't used to (HGVs)."Claire Young, Liberal Democrat MP for Thornbury and Yate, said it could cost between £300m and £600m to augment the bridge so it can continue carrying its current load.
"All this infrastructure was put in at the same time in the 60s, it's now ageing, we are seeing problems," she said."It has the potential to really impact the local economy. The government says its top priority is growth. If we are going to have that, we need the infrastructure to support it."Chris Pope, from National Highways, said the agency had no choice but to temporarily ban HGVs from the bridge."We want to keep the bridge running for people but the solution that we have found is that we've managed to keep it open for 90% of people," he said.
"It is safe, it's all about loading and unfortunately we are in a position where about 85% of the loading that the main suspension cables are carrying is actually the bridge itself."Mr Pope added that National Highways was looking for a solution that will allow HGVs to return "in a controlled manner so we don't overload the bridge".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
13 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Pembroke Dock cottage put up for auction with £1 guide price
Bwthyn Cariad, also known as Love Cottage, is located on Meyrick Street in Pembroke Dock and is being sold by Paul Fosh Auctions. The mid-terrace property is in poor condition and in need of full renovation. Sean Roper, of South Wales-based Paul Fosh Auctions, said: "The mid-terraced property has certainly seen much better days. "But there is plenty of scope presented by what is there and added to that the property has a very large garden which could also be exploited and an auction guide price of just £1." The cottage features two lower ground floor rooms, two bedrooms upstairs, and a large rear garden. Mr Roper said the property could be suitable for development, subject to planning permission and there are a 'number of development opportunities.' He said: "The first could be to renovate and refurbish to a high standard for holiday lets due to its proximity to many of Pembrokeshire's top tourist areas. "Typically, a refurbished two-bedroom cottage would generate in the region of £28,000 per annum net as a holiday let. "A second option could be to renovate and refurbish to a high standard as a long-term let. "There could be high demand for this kind of refurbished property from young professionals and local workers and could achieve a monthly rental of some £900. "Another idea could be to renovate and refurbish to a high standard and sell on the open market. "Renovated, a typical two-bedroom high standard property in this area could sell for between £160,000 and £185,000." He also suggested potential value in the garden. Mr Roper said: "There is also an option to renovate and sell the garden space that runs up Meyrick Street that's with the property. "Parcels of land could be sold to individual houses along Meyrick Street and then retain the house with a portion of the remaining garden space." The property is close to the main shopping area of Pembroke Dock, which is located three miles north west of Pembroke and seven miles south of Haverfordwest. The town has good transport connections via the A477 and a nearby rail station. Bwthyn Cariad is one of more than 80 lots listed in the upcoming Paul Fosh Auctions. The sale opens at 12pm on Tuesday, June 24 and closes around 5pm on Thursday, June 26.
The Courier
21 minutes ago
- The Courier
EXCLUSIVE: Dundee University opens voluntary redundancy scheme
Dundee University has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme as part of a plan to reduce full-time posts by 300. An email seen by The Courier sets out the terms to staff days after we revealed the university had lodged a request for £100 million bail-out to reduce jobs losses and secure a stable future. The new voluntary redundancy scheme was put together after talks with campus trade unions and approved by the university court. The scheme opened today and runs until July 25. Staff accepting the deal will leave their jobs by September 30. A university spokesman said: 'This is an important step in the recovery plan for the university, as we look to reduce staffing by 300 fulltime-equivalent through the voluntary scheme.' Dundee-based MSP Michael Marra said the launch is welcome after a long wait. He added: 'It is right that employees have the chance to take control of their own future at a time of such huge uncertainty for the university community. 'I have been calling for many months for a scheme that can staunch the financial bleeding. This is a basic first step. 'We now need to see a published plan for recovery that can be scrutinised by parliament and the public as a very urgent next step.' Earlier, The Courier revealed a full funding request was received by the Scottish Funding Council after weeks of discussions with the university and government. It includes £40m over two years and access to a liquidity facility of between £40m-£60m to support day-to-day spending. Together, that means the government could be putting together a rescue package of £100m. This is all on top of a previous loan of £22m already provided in March.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
M&S food sales growth collapses after cyber attack
Rapid growth at Marks & Spencer's food business has ground to a halt after the retailer was struck by a devastating cyber attack that left shelves empty. New figures seen by The Telegraph show that spending in M&S's food halls rose by 0.8pc in the four weeks to May 17 compared with a year earlier. The data covered a period when the retailer was in the initial throes of the hack. It marks a major slowdown from the rampant growth experienced by the retailer over the past year. According to the unpublished figures from analysts at NIQ, grocery spending at M&S had been up by 11pc in the 12 months to May 17. It has consistently ranked among the fastest-growing supermarkets in recent months. The NIQ data showed M&S sold fewer items in the four weeks to May 17 compared with the same period last year and its market share slipped to 3.3pc, compared with 3.6pc in the year as a whole. M&S slipped below Waitrose in the ranks of the largest grocers as a result, having overtaken the retailer for the first time in November. Previous figures had suggested M&S had escaped a major hit from the cyber attack. Separate data from Kantar recently suggested that M&S grocery sales rose by 8pc in the four weeks to May 18 and by 12.3pc in the 12 weeks to the same date. Kantar uses a different methodology, which does not include grocery sales from delivery apps such as Deliveroo. The NIQ survey data shed fresh light on the effect of the cyber attack that has crippled M&S. M&S was forced to halt online orders in mid-April after being struck by a cyber incident, which also disrupted food deliveries into stores. It led to gaps on shelves and forced the retailer to pause some offers in some stores. The attack has been blamed on criminal gang Scattered Spider. Stuart Machin, M&S's chief executive, was reportedly directly contacted by the hackers, with an abuse-filled email seen by the BBC allegedly showing hackers gloated about the attack. M&S declined to comment on the report. Seven weeks after the company disclosed the attack, it is still battling to bring its IT systems back online. M&S has not yet brought back online orders, with disruption expected to continue until July. The retailer has already admitted that the attack will knock an estimated £300m off its profits this year, dealing a setback to Mr Machin's efforts to rapidly grow the retailer. Clive Black, an analyst at Shore Capital, said the hit to food sales was to be 'wholly expected post the cyber incident, when considerable disruption to store operations was evident, meaning lots of gaps at time, famine and feast in terms of product coming into stores managed by manual rather than automated processes'. However, he suggested M&S was likely to experience a 'robust bounce back' once the IT issues were resolved. Richard Hyman, a partner at Aria Intelligent Solutions, added: 'If there was ever a good time for this to happen to M&S, it's now when they're in a position of strength. If this had happened several years ago, I think that one would be much more worried about them.' A spokesman for M&S said: 'We have made good progress in growing our food business and gaining market share over the long term. The most recent Kantar report shows market share growth of over 12pc, which is ahead of the market and underlines our resilience. 'Our stores are back to normal for our customers and have been for some time. We are getting on with providing the best quality products and service for our customers. In fact, just this week, we have launched 100 new or upgraded M&S Food products for summer.'
