Member

Events such as these are taking place at heritage railways all over Great Britain and are crucial to their survival and prosperity. Their concern is that they may become unviable if police forces levy excessive charges for escorting abnormal load movements. The reasons for the escort charges have not been adequately explained and there has been widespread inconsistency, with some forces making charges and others not. As the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, said, to avoid charges, some hauliers now have to take massive detours around a police force area, adding up to 100 miles to their journeys. Crucially, there seems to be no national policy or framework that regulates how or when police forces may charge for escorting these movements, although guidance is offered by the National Police Chiefs’ Council. This inconsistency results in arbitrary and often excessive fees in certain police force areas.