Council grants reprieve for Essex lorry park
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By Chris Tindall A PLANNING inspector has allowed an appeal against a council decision to serve an Essex lorry park with an enforcement notice, after concerns were raised that drivers would have nowhere to park.
The long-running battle over the future of the Titan lorry park in West Thurrock came to a head last week when inspector Pete Drew announced that the enforcement notice must be quashed, and gave it the green light to continue operating for the next four years.
Drew accepted that closure of the site would lead to unauthorised parking on streets and lay-bys in the borough, longer HGV journeys and would even have an impact on the economy of Thurrock.
He also dismissed local concerns about the lorry park’s effect on the accident rate on a nearby road.
In his decision, Drew added: “The appeal site is located away from residential areas and in view of the fact that [a] survey reveals that the site generates almost a thousand vehicular movements per day during the working week, I consider the level of public concern about what is an unlawful use to be modest.” A council spokesman says it has examined the decision and is now considering the effect it has on nearby buildings.
Road Haulage Association security manager Chrys Rampley describes the decision as a “wakeup call for the council” , and that it has been dragging its heels over resolving a major parking problem in the region.
“It needs to pull its inger out and address the problem urgently of where all these lorries will park,” she adds.