Volumetric Concrete Mobile Plants and Vehicle Weight Restrictions

That this House recognises that greener volumetric concrete mobile (VCM) plants are the backbone of concrete supplies to SME builders who drive economic growth, employing over 15,000 skilled workers, contributing £380m to the economy and £100m to the Exchequer every year; notes that VCMs have been running at up to 44 tonnes for 50 years as advanced mobile engineering plants and regrets the decision to restrict their weight to 32 tonnes, below 34 tonnes of electric HGVs; expresses concern that National Highways failed to carry out an environmental impact assessment on cutting VCM weights to 32 tonnes; also notes that restricting weights to 32 tonnes makes it impossible to generate eight cubic meters of a variety of concrete strengths and this gives old fashioned drum mixers an unfair advantage in addition to the extra fuel, carbon and road miles drum mixers generate because up to six of them are required to replace a single VCM; further notes that only VCMs can produce concrete with zero waste, service multiple customers and pour different strengths of concrete on one circuit, saving an estimated 14 million concrete lorry miles pa on UK roads, eliminating 598,000 lorry journeys and 120,000 tonnes of CO2 creating a 20% increase in CO2, nitrogen oxide and particulates; observes that 44 tonne VCMs manufactured in Sheffield are road legal and exported to many countries including Canada, Denmark and Brazil; and calls on the Department for Transport to permit VCMs to run at higher weights.