A14 toll road would put container hauliers' livelihoods at risk

Hauliers are being put at risk by plans for a toll road along the A14 because shipping lines at Felixstowe are considering pulling out, according to Suffolk council’s cabinet member for transport.

Graham Newman said it was a “practical reality” that major shipping lines at the port are discussing whether to move to Thames Gateway [home of London Gateway port] if a toll road is built.

He added: “I know for a fact there are three that are having that sort of debate.”

Newman said the Treasury had been convinced by eastern region MPs that a toll road would tackle congestion, but the effect on haulage businesses that serviced the port was being ignored.

“I needed to flag up to [MPs] that there’s a bit of stuff going on under the iceberg at the moment," he said. "You can’t imagine that DP World having made a huge investment in Thames Gateway is not now trying very hard to extract deals out of Felixstowe with existing shipping lines.

“We want our MPs to work hard to have a non-toll period and mitigate the effect of a tolling proposal. We put our hauliers and shipping lines at risk.”

A Port of Felixstowe spokesman said northern-bound traffic coming out of Thames Gateway or east London would be equally affected by a toll road:

“In terms of shipping lines, Felixstowe is clearly the best location; it’s close to the main shipping routes into northern Europe, it’s the best connected inland route, the rail option is second to none and the road network is pretty congestion free.”

A Department for Transport study into an A14 toll published earlier this year concluded that a £2 charge for LGVs could deliver economic benefits.

However following the announcement this week of a £1.5bn funding plan for the A14, which features a toll component, the region's hauliers have gone on the offensive declaring that tollling will hurt everyone in the locality, not just operators.