Following an invite by Jack Brereton MP the Minister for Roads and Local Transport, Richard Holden, made a visit to Stoke-on-Trent and local business Don-Bur to meet with local representatives and business leaders to discuss recent changes in law that have been praised by industry leaders.
Don-Bur, one of the country’s leading HGV trailer manufacturers and major local employer within the city, has teamed up with Stoke-on-Trent South MP, Jack Brereton, to formally invite the Minister for Roads and Local Transport to the city. The invitation comes following changes to the law which has seen the rollout of larger HGV semi-trailers on Great British roads.
The Government laid down legislation on the 10th May 2023 to safely rollout the vehicles onto Great British roads from the 31st May 2023. The Government has stated that the change in law will see the new larger lorries and semi-trailers move the same volume of goods but use 8% fewer journeys than current trailers. This will generate an expected £1.4 billion in economic benefits and take one standard-size trailer off the road for every 12 trips. The Government has also estimated that longer HGVs will save 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
During the visit with Minister Holden and local MP, Jack Brereton, Don-Bur representatives were able to offer a tour of their local facilities. This also gave representatives from Don-Bur the chance to outline to the Minister some of the challenges faced by local manufacturers particularly around attracting the skills needed to help the business grow and take advantage of the new changes in law.
Following the visit Stoke-on-Trent South MP, Jack Brereton, said:
“I am extremely grateful to Minister Holden for taking the time to come to Stoke-on-Trent to speak with local business leaders and representatives like myself.
“The change in law to allow larger HGVs on our roads has been welcomed by businesses here in our city and will help Don-Bur to continue to build on the successes they have been seeing as a key local employer. This was also a fantastic opportunity to raise some of the key challenges being faced by local manufacturers both with energy costs and attracting skills they need.
“I will continue to speak with Government ministers to ensure our local industries get the support they need and we continue to upskill our local workforce so people can access skilled well paid employment opportunities.”
David Burton, Managing Director at Don-Bur commented:
“We were delighted to have the opportunity to meet with Richard Holden MP and to discuss the newly passed LST legislation which we anticipate will have a positive impact to both our business and the industry.”
Minister for Roads, Richard Holden said:
“It was fantastic to visit Don-Bur today and hear how our introduction of Longer Semi-Trailer legislation will benefit businesses across the country like Don-Bur.
“I want to thank Jack and Don-Bur for welcoming me today and discussing the benefits this legislation will bring for our environment, our economy, whilst supporting high-skilled jobs.”
