Richmondshire District Council is set to consider a plan to close a lorry park plagued by antisocial behaviour, despite mounting concerns over a shortage of overnight places for HGVs to stop in the region and its suggested replacement offering fewer spaces.
The council’s corporate board, which is chaired by Councillor Angie Dale, will next week consider a proposal to sell the large site off Catterick Road which has been valued at £85,000, to Colburn Town Council for just £7,000, on the proviso it remains used for a community facility.
The town council has said the site’s final use will be for the long-term benefit of local residents and a range of options, ranging from a skateboard park or bowling green to youth project accommodation, are being considered.
Signalling her determination to close the lorry park earlier this year, Cllr Dale said the town council had been inundated with complaints about the lorry park and surrounding area being used as an open toilet.
Similar complaints made at Leeming Bar and Thirsk have led the Road Haulage Association and other industry bodies to call for more rather than fewer facilities for drivers in North Yorkshire, saying they have nowhere to park overnight.
The announcement of the proposal to sell the lorry park was also met with incredulity by some residents, leading to claims on social media that there is “a dire shortage of public toilets everywhere from the A1 to the national park”.
One resident wrote: “Decent, clean and sanitary public facilities are the sign of a civilised society and we clearly are not.”
A brief officer’s report to the corporate board states the lorry park would remain open until the planned £53m Roadchef motorway service area on the Catterick village side of the A1 at junction 52 was opened “with its specific provision for HGV parking”.
However, the officer’s report does not state what size the lorry park is, give an approximate figure of how many lorry spaces would be lost in Colburn or reveal how many parking spaces are proposed at the service station.
Nevertheless, at a council meeting earlier this year Cllr Dale said a survey she had conducted had found more than 50 lorries parked there, while planning documents submitted by Roadchef state it is planning for 40 HGVs along with one for abnormal loads.
The report states: “Colburn Lorry Park has operated for a number of years with the initial intent of providing parking for lorry drivers local to the area. The lorry park has become a popular overnight stop off for lorry drivers generally, not just those with a local connection.
“Signage to the lorry park was upgraded approximately three years ago in an attempt to guide lorry drivers to the site and reduce overnight HGV parking in other parts of the community, particularly on nearby roads serving the business parks.”
Ahead of the meeting, the district council’s former leader, Councillor Yvonne Peacock, said a thorough investigation of the options available to the district council, such as building toilet facilities at the lorry park, needed to be undertaken.
She said: “I’m completely against selling the lorry park. We are set to get rid of a facility without having properly considered the consequences of doing so on the surrounding communities or having properly examined how it could be improved.”
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Here, here Councillor Peacock, a very sensible and simple solution to the problem. To close the lorry park is short-sighted and will lead to problems later namely lorries parking where it is not suitable. What idiot built a lorry park without providing basic facilities such as toilets in the first place? Lorry drivers HAVE to stop due to the regulations on their hours and they need somewhere safe and secure to park. I hope the voice of common sense prevails, and the lorry park stays with new facilities. A Lorry Drivers Wife
There used to be toilets near the library but they were demolished some years ago, partly because they were old and dilapidated but also due to constant vandalism. As the park was initially for local drivers parking their vehicles overnight rather than on the estate, no amenities were needed. As wife and mother to wagon drivers I understand the problems for parking and the need for facilities. Unfortunately some people using Colburn lorry park leave bodily waste as well as litter and others have to clean it up. Abuse it, you lose it and there are always those who spoil a good thing for everyone else. Simply providing toilet facilities seems like a good idea but how long before the vandalism starts and costs escalate I wonder……
Maybe Cllr Peacock would like to offer facilities in the dales such as Leyburn Auction Mart or Washford Farm which both cater for lorries of all sizes. She may also wish to consider, as the report clearly states, that she is the former leader of the district council and is no longer responsible for these decisions. Selling the lorry park would offer the option of much-needed investment in Colburn and additional facilities to the scarce amount already provided. It’s time for Colburn and it’s people to be treated the same way as the rest of the district instead of them being treated as second class citizens. Many years ago the lorry park was halved/2/3 its original size to accommodate a waste recycling centre on the plot. Now is the time for ceasing the opportunity to get the investment in Colburn for the people of Colburn. The building of public toilets is not financially viable so why waste tax payers money for a study into its viability which will undoubtedly find that it’s too expensive not only to build but to maintain. Colburn will no longer be a dumping ground for the rest of the district and will be treated fairly, openly and honestly with investment and regeneration. You may also wish to consider encouraging Barry Raw to open up a parking facility on his vast expanse of land at Beacon Garage.
These lorry drivers bring a lot of revenue to the local shops and takeaways , toilet facilities provided would be the sensible option as councillor peacock stated
a lot of the time lorry’s cant get in because local drivers park there instead of taking there wagons to there local base. i.e Richmond, Leyburn. some of them are parked there for a few days. why dont they take them to there base.
Why are they being prosecuted, these guys are the ones that get you your food, the nhs their supplies etc etc, ye why not just stop them all and you won’t have a nhs, or food in shops, start improving things for these guys instead of making it harder, it’s up to you to sort this and not by discriminating against people making a living, keeping you in your lifestyle, what hypocritical idiots you all are,it’s disgusting