Transport for London (TfL) and London councils are going to be “sympathetic” to out-of-hours deliveries during the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, TfL has announced as it published a code of practice for out-of-hours deliveries this week.
London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: “The challenges surrounding deliveries during the Games are considerable. However, the success of the quieter out-of-hours delivery trials we’ve commissioned in recent months clearly demonstrate that out-of-hours deliveries can, and I believe will, play a vital role in ensuring London and the rest of the UK keeps on moving this summer.
“I urge businesses that make or receive deliveries in London to use the code of practice for all out-of-hours deliveries. It is up to the freight and business community to prove to London’s borough councils that they are aware of, and care about, the impact they have on the communities they deliver to. If the industry gets it right this summer, this is also a real opportunity for reducing congestion and improving air quality and road safety in London in the future.”
The move has been welcomed at London wholesale markets. A spokeswoman for Covent Garden Market Authority said: “As far as New Covent Garden Markeet is concerned, some of our existing deliveries might be considered out-of-hours already. Certainly for the Olympics, our distributors will be looking to move their deliveries earlier and this approach will be very helpful. What would be even more helpful would be if London Councils consider this approach out of Games time as it would help our companies in terms of speed and avoiding parking fines when unloading….Many of the companies here are planning for the Olympics and have had one to one sessions with our site-specific advisor provided by TfL.”
At Spitalfields Market Tenants’ Association the details revealed this week have not come as a surprise. A spokeswoman for SMTA said: “The announcements regarding overnight deliveries and noise abatement are something we have been very aware of and have in the past put pressure on the various TfL representatives we have dealt with to understand the need for this concession - most importantly for the catering businesses, and again this is something that the Olympic authorities have recognised after consultation with freight hauliers from all different types of business.”
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