Post-Brexit touring progress accelerates
The live music industry has successfully lobbied Government to organise a temporary fix ahead of a permanent ‘ dual registration ’ measure that will bypass EU cabotage restrictions for touring artists . Access examines the move ’ s impact , and what else is needed to remove the remaining barriers to European touring .
Craig Stanley
P ost-Brexit cabotage rules have meant that registered tour vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes have been allowed just three drops in the EU before having to return to the UK , and the situation is mirrored in the UK for EU-registered trucks .
Led by LIVE touring group chair Craig Stanley , the live music sector has worked with the Department for Transport ( DfT ) to organise a temporary fix ahead of a permanent ‘ dual registration ’ measure that is currently going through Parliament and is expected to be passed into law this autumn .
It means that event hauliers who maintain operating bases in both the EU and Great Britain , will be able to temporarily switch their vehicles to a UK operator license enabling them to conduct the UK leg of tours this summer .
The measure will not benefit hauliers that are solely based in
Dual registration will help many UK operators the UK , but will mean that the big five major tour trucking operators , who have bases in EU countries and the UK , will now be able to service European tours without being sabotaged by post-Brexit cabotage arrangements .
Among the operators set to benefit from the move are Transam Trucking , Edwin Shirly Trucking , KB Event , Stagetruck and Fly By Nite .
Unfortunately , the temporary measure and planned dual registration legislation will not include own account vehicles . While the vast majority of popular music tours involve hired vehicles , orchestras predominantly own their own trucks that are registered in the UK .
Smaller UK-based hauliers without the means to set up EU bases will also be left out in the cold , but Stanley says the new and planned measures could have a positive impact on them : “ Not so many of the
UK operators do major European tours and it may well be that there ’ s more British work for them as a result of the measures because the other operators have to split their fleets between the UK and Europe .
Nevertheless , the implementation of the temporary Great British Operating license scheme and planned dual license has been warmly received .
Transam / EST senior manager Ollie Kite says it is a lifeline for businesses such as his : “ Without dual registration we would have had to move our fleet to Europe and not service the UK or keep them in the UK and not service Europe .”
Stanley says the move will have huge financial implications : “ I put forward a report to the Department for Transport illustrating just how many tens of millions of Euros of business was under threat and we identified that about 110 European tours were at risk . It was the financial argument that really won it with them .”
The next step , says Stanely , is to push for all event touring trucks to have a cultural exemption from the post-Brexit restrictions : “ Our long-term ask is exemption for trucks engaged in moving cultural equipment for shows . Orchestras , for example , typically only need to go to Europe six weeks a year ; so that ’ s not going to distort the market .”
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