West Midlands Police鈥檚 approach to abnormal load movements has broken away from how national rules are applied elsewhere in the UK, driving up costs and risking delays to HS2 and other major projects, the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) says.聽
聽The CPA represents more than 2,000 plant-hire and heavy haulage firms supplying the cranes, piling rigs, rail maintenance vehicles and specialist machinery underpinning major construction, transport and infrastructure schemes across the country.
Under national rules, companies moving abnormal loads are required to notify the police in advance 鈥� not seek permission. The system is designed to allow police to manage safety and traffic disruption, not to approve or block compliant movements. For more than two decades, most abnormal loads have been safely self-escorted by trained operators, with police escorts used only where there is a clear and exceptional risk.
聽The CPA says the national approach was reaffirmed in updated guidance from the National Police Chiefs鈥� Council (NPCC), developed with police forces and industry to ensure consistency and proportionality in the handling of abnormal loads after concerns about growing regional discrepancies.
Most police forces across the UK have got back into line with established practices but West Midlands Police remains a national outlier, according to the CPA and its members.
West Midlands Police insists that it is fully complying with national guidelines and has good relations with hauliers. [See full response below.]
To support its campaign against apparently random and over-zealous policing of the movement of abnormal loads in the West Midlands, the CPA conducted a survey of members
Members reported notifications being treated as if they require approval, with additional technical information being demanded despite no change in national policy. Operators have been forced to use police escorts where, under normal circumstances and in other areas, self-escorting would be perfectly acceptable.
More than 80% of respondents said the actions of West Midlands Police had disrupted their operations, and mor e than two-thirds reported serious project delays as a result of rejected or delayed abnormal load notifications.
Around three-quarters said that they had rerouted loads, taken detours or avoided operating within the West Midlands Police area altogether.
One in six reported additional costs exceeding 拢100,000, with many others citing costs in the 拢10,000 to 拢50,000 range.
Respondents also provided multiple examples of abnormal load notifications that had previously been accepted under the former approach but were later rejected following changes to load description requirements, despite no change in national legislation.
Freedom of Information disclosures have revealed that over a five-year period, West Midlands Police increased its income from abnormal load escorting from around 拢15,000 a year to approximately 拢1.1m.
CPA chief executive Steve Mulholland said: 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about safety 鈥� it鈥檚 about misinterpretation and incentives that are putting HS2 and major infrastructure projects at risk. NPCC guidance was designed to bring national consistency to how abnormal loads are handled, and industry engaged with it in good faith. But if individual forces choose not to follow it, the system stops working.
鈥淲hen notifications are treated as approvals and operators are pushed towards unnecessary police escorts, it drives up costs, delays projects and drains confidence from infrastructure delivery.
鈥淵ou simply cannot deliver HS2 or major rail and construction projects if the machinery needed to build them is held up by regional policy drift.
鈥淲e need an urgent return to a single, nationally consistent interpretation of the rules, so compliant movements are treated the same way in every part of the country.鈥�
Concerns over West Midlands Police鈥檚 approach have also been raised repeatedly in Parliament. In the House of Lords in January, Earl Attlee told peers that he had witnessed officers harassing the drivers and crew of what he described as 鈥渙ne of the most professional heavy haulage companies in the land鈥�. He said that the tactics employed by West Midlands Police resemble those he would 鈥渆xpect to see used by a corrupt police force in a slowly developing country鈥�.
CPA members say the issue is escalating. Firms operating in the West Midlands have reported sudden changes to the information demanded in abnormal load notifications, with movements rejected despite complying with national rules.
聽The CPA warns that ongoing policy divergence risks undermining confidence and investment across the construction and transport supply chain, putting HS2 and other major infrastructure projects at risk, and is calling on the Department for Transport to restore a nationally consistent approach.
What the police say
Asked for a response, West Midlands Police said: 鈥淥ur position in the heart of the country, and with major road and motorway networks running through our force area, means we regularly manage escorts for abnormal loads to ensure road safety and compliance with legislation.
聽鈥淥ur priority is road safety, and the public rightly expect us to do everything within our power to ensure the safety of all road users. 聽We have worked tirelessly with the haulage industry over the last 18 months to ensure consistency in our approach to the movement of abnormal loads throughout our region.聽 We also work with our neighbouring forces as a collective to ensure companies are not excessively charged.聽
鈥淭he overwhelming feedback from the majority of hauliers is positive and we have seen a move towards many proactively approaching our Commercial Vehicle Unit to ensure they comply with the law. Our systems and processes ensure that we are open and transparent about what moves we support and how they are charged. This is essential to ensuring the trust and confidence of the industry.
鈥淲ith increased scrutiny of movements, increased infrastructure projects and the level of risk that these operations pose to the public, demand for police escorts has increased. Demand for abnormal loads across the region is increasing, fuelled by a thriving industry and major infrastructure projects such as HS2 and developments around M42 Junction 5A.
鈥淲e work to the NPCC National Policing Guidelines on Charging for Police Services, and the NPCC guidance in relation to the movement of Abnormal Loads 2025. The checks we conduct also align with Coroners鈥� and IOPC recommendations following incidents involving abnormal loads.
鈥淟ast year, we assessed 171,565 notifications. Of these, 13,354 notifications were reviewed as they potentially required police support due to the route, size or nature of the load. A total of 706 were escorted by our officers, which equates to 0.41% of movement notifications.
鈥淎bnormal load escort operations involve comprehensive safety checks, including driver qualifications, load security, vehicle roadworthiness and compliance with tachograph regulations. We only ever seek details that are relevant and outlined in legislation, and vehicle movements are only ever prohibited when they are assessed as unlawful.
鈥淒uring these checks, we have found bald tyres, non-compliance with drivers' hours and serious mechanical defects.
聽鈥淲e foster positive relationships with haulage operators, offering guidance to enhance compliance and safety without unnecessary penalties and we continue to educate and help operators, focusing on long-term improvements in compliance and risk reduction.
鈥淲e continue to listen to and respond to any concerns raised by stakeholders and are due to meet industry representatives this month as part of our ongoing commitment to working in partnership.鈥�
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