Lorry park to close
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PRESTON'S ten-year-old maximum security lorry perk is to close at the end of the month, throwing many operators' trunk route arrangements into disarray.
The site is needed for redevelopment, and the Royal British Legion Attendants Company Ltd has been unable to find a replacement location for the site which has become a regular stopping point for many vehicles en route from Scotland to the south.
BLAC chief executive John Fry said this week: ''Finding a suitable site which will not inconvenience the community and which is easily accessible to vehicles and driver accommodation is a big enough problem. Acquisition of the land, and cost of development is another massive headache."
According to the Road Haulage Association North-west area secretary Bill Farnorth, there is still hope that Preston Council may manage to locate an alternative site, but he said there was little chance of averting at least a short period when there will be no park in the town.
He pointed out that the park, which was used as the prototype for the abortive 1971 Government scheme for El Om worth of national lorry parks, is strategically important to the haulage industry, especially in view of the shortening of drivers' hours.
RHA security officer George Burrows described the news of closure as "a shame", and said that it would leave Britain with only five secure parks, of which three are outside London. He added that he hoped any new Preston park would incorporate living accommodation for drivers.