Calais site cash plea
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by Juliet Parish • Property developers want hauliers to invest in a truckstop for which they have planning permission near the Channel Tunnel's Calais freight terminal.
Luton-based Dorchester Properties says it will consider a partnership with a consortium or single operator, as well as selling all of its interest in the .£1.5m development.
The truckstop, scheduled to be opened early next year, is expected to have parking space for about 250 vehicles and 55 bedrooms. It will be 1.6km (one mile) away from the Chunnel's entrance and 8Iun (five miles) from the ferry port. The developer is planning to turn the 120-acre plot into a distribution complex by selling or leasing the remainder of the land to transport firms.
"It is in a prime position for hauliers who want to set up deals with Continental firms to transport their goods over to Britain," says Dorchester Properties' direc tor Stan Wymark, He teamed up with former haulier John Exton to buy the 120 acres of farmland after discovering a lack of truckstops in this part of France.
Although Exton gained experience of truckstops during his ownership of Grantham-based Eveready Haulage in the 1970s, the directors are asking drivers to make suggestions for the project.
Exton expects the site, which he says could be the first of a Continental network, to offer the same level of comfort as Formula 1 motorist stops.
It will have rooms with one or two beds, en suite showers, a restaurant, a games room and lounges. And there will be reefer plug-in points in the parking area, together with a repair, recovery, fuelling and cleaning service.
Contact Wymark or Exton on (0932) 248827.