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Room for improvement
Page 28
Page 29
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Last week, we looked at closing truck parks. But those we have are overcrowded and problematic.
Chris Tindall and Emma Penny report.
The M25 is one of the busiest trunk routes in the UK, but there are only three main truckstops: South Mimms, Thurrock and Clacket Lane. In the Midlands Golden Triangle* the best known truckstop is Nightowl's Crick services on the A5.
With such a dearth of choices you would at least hope that what is on offer is of a relatively high standard. But CM'S investigations confirm something that truck drivers already know: most are overpriced, overflowing at night and offer poor facilities.
It's not difficult to see how Thusrock's truck park fills up to overflowing. It was very busy when CM visited at 11.30am. and we were told this was nothing compared with the evenings and nights.
Clacket Lane was also busy and drivers said that its location meant the influx of foreign hauliers from the continent made the situation even worse.
Surprisingly, it was South Mimms that had the highest number of foreign trucks when CM visited it at about 3.30pm. There were plenty of vacant parking spaces but access to the facilities at the nearby services was not obvious, which was a needless irritation.
At Crick, which is dedicated to trucks, drivers we spoke to said there were often trucks parked at the back and front of other vehicles in an attempt to squeeze more in overnight.
Crick's popularity at night might be because of its newly erected security fencing. But it has come at a price. with the cost of overnight parking rising from £7 when it was a BP Truckstop to £12 under Nightowl.
Cost was a gripe for all the drivers and operators we spoke to. For some drivers, who have to pay up and then claim back the cost of overnight parking. the £60 a week it would take out of their bank accounts was simply too much.
Thurrock
Glen Rivera. who drives for Suffolk-based general haulier Bartrums, is resigned to using the services on the M25 during the day but he refuses to use the overnight parking facilities: "It's £12! I normally park on industrial estates."
He reckons the worst services on the M25 is South Mimms, but he doesn't rate Thurrock highly either. This opinion is echoed by BJ Transport driver Roy Rogers, who warns that security is poor at Thurrock. He used to park up on the nearby Lakeside estate until the police cracked down on it.
Rogers thinks it's less safe now that the hedges surrounding the truck park have been cut down. He adds that Thurrock gets so busy at night that the truck park is full to overflowing and HGVs are directed to the car parks.
Terry Banks, who drives for Securicor Omega, agrees that the nights are the worst at Thurrock: "There's not enough lorry parks here. Night time is murder and it's too expensive."
Clacket Lane
Dave Self. who drives for Paignton-based Sierra Windows, generally parks in industrial estates or his customers' premises at night due to the cost of using truck services on the M25. "I used to use the BP truck stops," he explains, "but not any more now they have been sold and the prices have gone up."
JT Feather Haulage's Ken Gallagher pulled no punches when asked about the standards at Clacket: "It's crap. The last time I stopped overnight I paid £15 an the food was awful. If hadn't bee] tired I would have complained."
He says the only reason h■ stopped here when we met bin was because he had two loads u drop off in the area.
Although there are showe facilities here for drivers. Gal lagher adds that the water is nor mally warm at best.
South Mimms
South Mimms was described as on of the worst truckstops by almos all the drivers interviewed at Thin rock and Clacket Lane. Howevei Fakenham-based Jack Richards Son has an account with the plao and is better placed than many n describe the facilities.
-They are absolutely abysmal. the absolute pits," says transport controller,GordonShipley."Befotv it was taken over the food was good and the showers were hot and pressurised. But then they scrubbed half the menu straight away and the food is now not fit to eat.
"The showers dribble as well; they are obviously trying to save money. You wouldn't send your worst enemy there."
However. Shipley says they have no alternative but to continue using the place as the firm has a number of customers in the area and unless the trucks are empty they have to park somewhere that's seen to be secure.
Crick
"They're not offering a service here," was the response of Peter Reynolds, who was parked up at Nightowl's Crick services."I drive on the Continent and in Germany I'll spend €10 to park but I'll get every penny back. Here we only get a shower for our money, but at least they are better than they were."
The refurbished shower facilities at Crick are also welcomed by Les Brittle and his mate Spencer Marston; they drive for Willenhall-based AF Blakemore. They're out five nights a week and the company has an account with Nightowl, with eight to 12 trucks parked at Crick every night — a total spend of about /144.
But while the shower facilities are better, the food is "crap", they say: "If we had to pay for it we wouldn't park here."