Planners told to make space for lorry parking

The Government has announced its commitment to addressing the need for better, and more, lorry parking with a proposal that includes:

• Identifying temporary sties for short term facilities to address the immediate need.
• Creating a national framework to ensure that local planning allocates land to parking.
• Local planning to ensure that proposals for new or expanded distribution centres should make provision for sufficient lorry parking.
• Updating the National lorry parking survey to ensure strong evidence is available on the national picture in future.
• Developing long term measures supported by the £32.5 million in roadside facilities for hauliers announced in the Autumn budget

In a written statement to Parliament, Grant Shapps writes, “The need for a reliable and efficient supply chain has recently come into sharp focus. It is therefore essential that we put in place mechanisms that deliver a supply chain network that is secure, reliable, efficient, and resilient, with no link in the chain overlooked.

“We are encouraging National Highways to consider how their land holdings can be used to provide additional parking spaces nationwide, to give priority to the provision of lorry parking.

“This government is also determined that the planning system should play its part in meeting the needs of hauliers and addressing current deficiencies. Planning plays a critical part in the allocation of land for lorry parking.

“The National planning policy framework sets out that local planning policies and decisions should recognise the importance of providing adequate overnight lorry parking facilities, taking into account any local shortages, to reduce the risk of parking in locations that lack proper facilities or could cause a nuisance. Proposals for new or expanded distribution centres should make provision for sufficient lorry parking to cater for their anticipated use.

“We have also published planning practice guidance setting out how local planning authorities can assess the need for and allocate land to logistics site uses and are accelerating work recommended by the National Infrastructure Commission to consider the appropriateness of current planning practice guidance.

“[We] are updating the National lorry parking survey to ensure strong evidence is available on the national picture in future. A programme of longer-term measures is under development supported by the £32.5 million in roadside facilities for hauliers announced in the budget and we will publish a future of freight plan, a long-term strategic plan for the sector, in coming months.”

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