Following a campaign of lobbying and working with London councils, the Freight Transport Association has secured agreement to a longer period for loading and unloading at the kerbside – 40 minutes instead of the current 20.

The agreement was reached by all 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London following representations made to them by FTA and TfL’s Freight Unit.

The changes will allow deliveries to be made for up to 40 minutes instead of the current 20, so long as continuous loading and unloading is taking place.

London councils’ proposal goes on to say that if loading is clearly still going on for longer than 40 minutes then fines should not be issued.

However, this needs to be balanced with the dispensation schemes that are available for longer planned deliveries.

London councils are also recommending that the new rules should apply during the operating time of the yellow lines instead of using 11 o’clock as the start time for loading limits.

Now it is for the boroughs to implement the changes – Westminster City Council is leading the way.

A pilot scheme started in July, which allows 40 minutes after 11 o’clock.

However, this will be a strict 40-minute limit and will only apply to larger delivery vehicles that have longer delivery time needs.

Gordon Telling, FTA’s head of policy for London, South East & East of England, said: ‘Fines issued for overstaying on a 20-minute kerb space are one of the most frustrating problems for conscientious operators who instead have to split jobs up and make multiple visits to sites.

“This represents a major step forward for delivery companies.”