Forced to move?

摘要

In February, property consultants, NAI Fuller Peiser, and the Freight Transport Association carried out a joint preliminary survey to assess attitudes towards, and possible consequences of, the Road Transport Directive (RTD) before it became law. When the survey was repeated in June to gauge the actual effect of the directive to date, 25 per cent more companies than originally forecast said that they were likely to relocate as a result of the RTD, and 20 per cent more than forecast felt that the RTD was forcing distribution centres closer to urban areas. The research also reveals the extent to which specific regions across the UK have underrated potential property issues. For example, the results show twice as many companies across London and the South East are now thinking about relocating than had origi-nally planned to do so - this translates to three out of every 10 organi- sations. Similarly, in the Midlands, 40 per cent more companies now believe that the RTD will bring distribution facilities closer to urban areas.