Security park in financial difficulties
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Carlisle proposes to ban lorry parking from Juiy 31, but its new Transportel is incomplete
by CM reporter
THE FIRST of the planned nationwide security parks, and Carlisle Transportel (CM April 13) has run into financial problems and all work on the site has been stopped. This together with a recommendation before the Carlisle District Council to ban heavy goods vehicle parking at the Sands car park in the city centre from July 31 could cause parking and accommodation problems for hundreds of trunk drivers who use the M6 and make an overnight stop at Carlisle.
The district council is to hear a recommendation from its planning and engineering committee on July 30 to close the Sands car park and if accepted it will take effect from the next day, but the plan needs the approval of the new Cumbria County Council.
Financial backing
The recommendation is being made on the assumption that the 150 drivers who use the park each night will move to the security park at Kingstown Industrial Estate, which is being developed by Vanguard lmerstop Parking Ltd, of 1 Oxford Place, Leeds., This week John Laing (Construction) Ltd of Carlisle, who are the main contractors on the site told CM that they had suspended building and had withdrawn all of their plant, equipment and site huts because of "the termination of contract." A spokesman for John Laing said "This simply means non payment of accounts which are due for some of the work already carried out".
Mr A. H. Markham. Managing Director of Vanguard said: "We are in considerable financial difficulties since the crash of London and County Securities Group who had a 50 per cent holding in our company, but we are in the process of looking around for new financial backers". In the meantime the security park and refuelling facilities at Kingstown continue to operate. The overnight charge for an unladen vehicle is 50p and the charges for laden vehicles range from 80p to £1..80 per night. The Sands car park costs 16p a night for a rigid and 22p for an artic.
Because the overnight accommodation, which will eventually house 78 drivers is still incomplete Vanguard is arranging a free minibus service to convey drivers between the park and their overnight accommodation in Carlisle.
Suspended building
In an endeavour to overcome the financial problems Vanguard has approached a • number of organizations for financial backing. One of these is the new Cumbria County Council which under Section 30 of the Highways Act 1971. could qualify for a grant towards the cost of any scheme designed to overcome heavy goods vehicle parking in town centres. The cost of developing the 11 acre Carlisle site was estimated at L1/2m in March 1973. A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: "We have just completed a transportation study in Carlisle and now we will have to think about talking to the DoE. Our next Council meeting is on July 26 and it is then that we will decide if Carlisle can impose a parking ban": If the scheme goes through and the Sands car park becomes a prohibited area from July 31 drivers will require to leave the M6 at Junction 44 and take the A74 into the security park.