Otley ban panned
Page 9

If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
PLANS TO BAN trucks from the town centre of Otley in West Yorkshire have been attacked by one of the biggest tipper operators in the area.
Leeds City Council voted last Thursday to recommend a ban; now it has to consult other councils in the area, including North Yorkshire County Council, for their views on a ban.
Mark Longthorne, partner in stone haulier Longthornes of Hebden, warns that any ban would be -a complete disaster".
He reports that Otley is on the only economic route for hauling limestone from a quarry in Pateley Bridge to building sites in Leeds and Bradford.
A longer route would force the quarry to close because it would not be economically viable, Longthorne argues.
Longthornes operates 25 tippers a day carrying limestone from the quarry. Longthorne says: "The route we take is not a rat run or a short cut. The only alternative would be to go through Skipton or Harrogate and the costs of that would finish the quarry" • Bath & North East Somerset Council is hoping to restrict the movement of HGVs through Bath by forcing operators to apply for permits before making deliveries.