Bill will ban night lorry parking
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• The London borough of Haringey's Bill which would enable the council to recruit a team of inspectors to track down all-night parkers, reached its unopposed committee stage in the Commons on Wednesday.
The Bill is a result of widespread complaints within the borough and would ban a heavy vehicle or trailer parking in any residential street in Haringey at night or on a Sunday. A penalty of £20 for a first offence and 1:50 for a second or subsequent offence is proposed but the measure would not come into force until the council was satisfied that sufficient lorry parking places were available.
Recently, an overnight check revealed 582 vehicles over 2+ tons parked in Haringey streets although a local lorry park, with a capacity of 500 vehicles, contained only 50.
Liverpool and Manchester are also considering seeking power to bar heavy vehicles from being parked in front gardens and on council estate roads at night.
These moves come at a time when a report which could lead to the establishment of a nationwide system of lorry parks is due to be delivered to Mr John Peyton, Minister for Transport Industries.
It comes from the working party set up 18 months ago. headed by an official of the continued on page 28 Environment Ministry and including representatives of haulage interests, the police and local authorities.
Their brief was to study the effect of the indiscriminate parking of lorries both from an environmental point of view, and from the aspects of road safety and security. The inquiry has been confined to the North-West, but the general conclusions and recommendations will apply to the country as a whole.
The report is understood to recommend that the lorry parks should include feeding and sleeping facilities for drivers as well as for maintenance and refuelling of vehicles.
The idea is that local authorities should provide the sites which would be leased to contractors who would be responsible for their development and operation.
If Mr Peyton accepts the working party recommendations the scheme could be put into operation by Order under the Transport Act 1968.
Meanwhile, the RHA has objected to a GLC proposal to prohibit over-2}-ton ulw commercial vehicles from waiting between 6.30 pm and 8 am in a wide area of Tower Hamlets, because there is no permanent off-street parking available.