1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
RHA sees red over MEP's comments on truck park
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE ROAD HAULAGE Association (RHA) is furious at comments made by an MEP after she apparently claimed that a vital Midlands lorry park forced to close down last year had been "derelict': West Midlands Labour MEP Neena Gill was quoted in a local newspaper championing the redevelopment of the former Nightowl truckstop near Wolverhampton for industrial warehousing purposes.
The Wolverhampton site closed in 2008, leaving drivers with no nearby alternative for safe parking.
According to the Express Star, Gill said: "The local business community have used the resources made available to them
to get what was a derelict truckstop ready for a bright future as a leading business park."
Rut RHA infrastructure manager Chrys Rampley says the lorry park's owner had requested that operator Nightowl vacate the thriving site before it demolished the premises: "I am incensed," she says. "The only reason it was derelict was because Nightowl was chucked off it:' Rampley says she is also angry because the redevelopment attracted 11.3m of European funding: "The nearest truck parks are 25 to 30 miles away, but they are not secure. Why should they get all this funding when we struggle with all this lack of parking?"
A spokesman for Gill provided the following statement: "It is important we have places where truck drivers can rest at night, and where valuable goods will be safe. The information we were given by the owners of Vernon Park stated that the stop was disused.
"My visit was intended to highlight the work done by European funding for regeneration in the West Midlands region. I would welcome more information on the truck park's history so we can work together to ensure secure truckstops for the future."
flFOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT: -7 www.roadtranspart.comtm