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Operators sidelined as Stack parking plans are shelved
HAULIERS CAUGHT up in Suffolk's Operation Stack could be herded onto an A-road outside Felixstowe for the foreseeable future, after the county council put forward no other plans to solve the parking crisis.
At a recent meeting with industry stakeholders, Suffolk County Council (SCC) admitted it had shelved at least four other ideas, and is seeking approval for a small expansion of land on the A45 at Levington to park several hundred HGVs when the port is forced to close, However, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and residents have raised concerns about conditions for drivers due to a lack of facilities at the site.
Chrys Rampley, RHA infrastructure manager, says: "Because of the cost to set up something that only happens a few times a year, they have gone back to this temporary measure. It's not satisfactory because of the welfare of drivers. It's disappointing that no real solution has been found."
Marian Rose, parish clerk at Levington Parish Council, says it has objected to any continuation of the current stack procedures: "The original consultation called for seven criteria to be met for a permanent Stack site. These two meet only one," she says. This is not satisfactory for the drivers either: two or three portaloos for 200 to 300 drivers is not satisfactory.'
SCC was unavailable for comment.