Watch: APPG Chair delivers letter to PM calling for facilities improvements
Rachel Taylor MP, Chair of the APPG for Freight and Logistics, along with representatives of the Road Haulage Association have today delivered a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent action to improve facilities for HGV drivers in the UK.
The letter has been signed by 115 parliamentarians and calls for several steps to ensure drivers have access to safe, secure parking and decent roadside facilities.
The letter calls for the Government to:
Adopt additional wording in the National Planning Policy Framework and release a National Policy Statement outlining the infrastructure required by logistics with a particular emphasis on HGV parking provision.
Support motorway service area operators to implement minimum security standards - particularly those operating on government-owned land as a condition of their lease.
Provide a central source of information on lorry parking, hosted on GOV.UK and regularly updated by MHCLG and DfT.
Require local planning authorities to identify sites for lorry parking, alongside a presumption in favour of development for planning applications for lorry parking where sites have not been identified.
Mandate HGV parking provision as a consent condition for all major infrastructure schemes, including Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, as well as any local projects which are likely to increase the movements of goods vehicles, such as new logistics parks, distribution centres and major improvements to the local road network.
Truck drivers keep the economy moving. They deliver the food on our shelves, the medicines in our hospitals and the goods that power our economy. However, they are often are forced to rest in lay-bys or industrial estates because there simply are not enough suitable places to stop.
This is not just a driver welfare issue. The shortage of secure parking also increases the risk of freight crime, disrupts supply chains and disincentivises workforce entry for the next generation of drivers.
The strength of support behind this letter shows the scale of concern across Parliament. Improving facilities for drivers is essential if we want a resilient, secure and professional freight sector.
The APPG for Freight and Logistics will continue campaign on this issue and looks forward to the Prime Minister’s response to this letter.