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On 27 April Peter Hawes put bars on the windows of his roadside truckstop and welded himself inside to protest against an extraordinary Department of Transport U-turn which he claims has cost him and his wife their livelihoods. He's still there. CM went along to find out why.
Hollywood film maker Sam Goldwyn coined the phrase: "A verbal contract is not worth the paper it's written on." That cynical remark sums up a trucking story set near the small Cambridgeshire town of Guyhirn.
The Guyhirn layby cafe may not have the romance of a Hollywood-style western saloon, but the east of England saga has all the ingredients of a Goldwyn epic, including gunslingers, a territorial dispute, an innocent man locked away, and the inevitable double cross.
In this case, however, the alleged villain is not some wild west cattle baron but the Department of Transport. Its posse ride tipper lorries in the name of the law and follow behind the banner of road safety Peter and Jenny Hawes bought the cafe—a portable cabin in a layby on the A47 between Wisbech and Peterborough—almost three years ago.They paid £7,000 and thought they were buying a business to run until they retired. Steve was 46, and the victim of a building site accident which drove him to seek an alternative living. They have spent about 124,000 on improvements. The cafe is no four-star restaurant but it has a good name among truckers who use it regularly. They appreciate the good quality of food and the preferential treatment given to truck drivers parking up to take their mandatory breaks.
Not any more. The layby has been filled in with tipped waste and the Hawes allege that the DOT has reneged on its own plan to provide them with an alternative site for the cafe.
The DOT says the Guyhirn layby which housed the cafe was a safety hazard. I :1st October it banned right-hand turns from the layby and on 1 March this year it arranged a meeting to discuss the future of the cafe.
Armed with statistics which show that with 13 accidents in the vicinity in six years, it was as safe as other comparable sites in the area, the Hawes awaited the arrival of two Lxyr officials.
The department showed its caring, solution-finding face: "They said they were thinking of closing the layby but they offered us a site two miles up the road," says Jenny Hawes.
"This new layby was not as good or very wide but they said they would be improving it and would put a base in for our cafe," she says. Present at the meeting, at the suggestion of the DOT, was Henry Bellingham, MP for the Hawes' North-West Norfolk constituency. A letter to the Hawes from Bellingham recalls the outcome: "As you know, what Keith Miller (from the DOT) came up with came as a surprise to me as well. That said, I do feel that all in all it was a fairly positive out come."
The DOT's soh it ion has to be seen as unusual given the legal position of the cafe.
The local authority can collect a business rate, and a health certificate is required, but the Hawes have no more right to operate in the layby than doff, any other roadside cafe.
"Our policy is tacit approval," says a spokesman for t he DOT. "Officially our policy is not to allow roadside cafes, but because they provide a service we are not going to clamp &mai unless they cause problems." Neverlheless, the offer was made.
Written evidence of the DOT proposal takes the form of drawing number J2816/2, sent by the department to the Hawes. It shows the location of the new layby and hardstanding. The accompanying letter states: "Please let us know by 19 March 1993 if you wish the hardstanding to be positioned differently."
Peter Hawes says: "They sent it so that we could show the electricity company where to put the new cable."
The arrival of the plan triggered a dangerous turn in the plot and plunged one of the heroes into sm',nal danger.
On 24 March Peter Hawes and an excavator driver went to dig a trench for the power cable at the new site. They were shot at by a shotgun-toting local resident who was, to put it mildly, unhappy about the DOT proposals.
The perpetratol. has since been charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life het he seems to have had a far-reaching effect on the DOT. "From the day the bloke took a shot at me they've backtracked," says Peter Hawes,
The DOT is in danger of giving the impression that it is trying to wriggle out of a promise it made hut does not wish to keep.
"We have nothii ig actually in writing from them to say we can move," says Jenny Hawes, "but we do have the plan and our MP as a witness. They even asked us to send back the plan showing the new layby or destroy it because they claim it is 'irrelevant'."
Is this sonic sort of administrative error or a sinister attempt to cover its tracks? The DOT seems to be uncomfortable about discussing the case. "A plan to move the cafe was discussed as a possibility, but in the end the police and the district council were categorically opposed to it," says a local DOT spokeswoman.
This is not an accurate account, according to Fenland District Council: "We said that what the cafe owner wanted to do required planning permission because it raises issues of environment, amenity and highway safety" says John Clark, director of development and leisure services. "l really had an opportunity to consick any detail because no planning appl was ever put in Jenny Hawes says she was told sh need to seek permission because thf was the responsible authority-.
Cambridgeshire Police was unabt comment but it is known that the IX to attend a meeting between official! Fenland District Council and the pol discuss the matter at which the Hav. present.
After the shooting incident the Hi' no reason to believe the agreement N was not being honoured. When the I arranged to partly block the layby ii 29 March said: "This will not affect t operation of the layby."
They understood that the layby be completely closed until they had : the new site.
MORE WASTE
At 05:00hrs on 14 April, more tipper tipping still more waste to seal off th On the 23 April they were back.The seemed, was off.
The Hawes were subsequently wi that unless they left before 30 April' would be removed. On 27 April they their protest which continues today.
It is a protest supported by local h "It was one of the few places you cot overnight," says proprietor Herbert of Kingham Transport, Doddington drivers used to stop there and most r drivers around here have shown sup Drivers are asked to show support h their horns. The maximum recorded hour is 700, says Peter Hawes.
Some haulage customers have car the Transport & General Workers U which is also trying to put pressure DOT to honour its original intention Compensation has been mentione Jenny Hawes says she wants to cant earn a living: "In any case, how can believe them when they talk about compensation after the way they've back on everything so far?" The DO has no further plans to take action a layby. The rates are still being paid t council is still accepting the money.
Peter Hawes says he is prepared t, continue with the protest for as long takes, and with temperatures inside 100°F on some days this could becor uncomfortable. "What else can we d says.Whether the I 'awes have a righ new site is not the issue.
The Hawes had no reason to sear( another location once the decision to layby in question was taken and an alternative site proposed.
They have proof and a credible wi that the DOT made an offer it has nc rejected on apparently questionable Goldwyn would have been proud. E by Steve McQueen