Court bans layby cafes
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II Truck drivers travelling along the A34 between the M4 and Oxford could be going hungry after a High Court Ruling last week banned mobile refreshment stalls along the route.
Furious owners of the stalls—fronted by Dukes of Hazard fan Nikki Wiggins, who trades as Boss Hogg Event Caterers—describe the Cherwell District Council ban that led to the court case as "irrational and perverse".
The traders point to the support that has come for their activities from Thames Valley Police and the Highways Agency, who say that truck drivers will have nowhere else to buy a snack. But Mr Justice Maurice Kay ruled that their complaints against the council's decision were -not remotely arguable".
He pointed out that the council had been entitled to disagree with the police and the Highways Agency and had been given "wide discretion" by Parliament to take action to protect the environment. But barristers representing Wiggins and the other traders claimed that the case should have been treated as a planning rather than an environmental matter.
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Wiggins adds: "Such trading was going on for about eight years on the A34—they were popular with truck drivers. It is nice to stop and have a break.
"When you are a lorry driver you need these services," she says. "A valuable service has been taken away overnight."
Wiggins was ordered to pay the legal costs of the two-day judicial review hearing.