The Government confirmed that 38 truck stops across England will benefit from £6 million funding from the Department for Transport (DfT), with a further £10.5 million coming from industry.
The upgrades will include new showers and restaurants, as well as better lighting and secure fencing around rest areas so drivers can feel safer and sleep with greater peace of mind. The measures will also create around 430 new parking spaces for HGVs to free up local roads. The improvements will also include new chargepoints to power electric HGVs and solar panels on lorry driver facilities to make them as sustainable as possible.
The measures follow £15 million in joint government and industry funding for similar improvements announced in September last year as part of the fund’s first application window.
Roads Minister, Guy Opperman, said: “Our lorry drivers are the backbone of a successful economy, ensuring food, goods and crucial medical supplies can get where they need to be, all over the country.
“That’s why it’s only right we leave no stone unturned when it comes to supporting our lorry drivers as part of our plan to grow the economy, and today’s £16.5 million in joint government and industry funding will provide them with the safe, spacious and modern facilities they deserve.
Declan Pang, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the RHA, said: “We are delighted to see the Government’s match funded grant scheme being awarded to projects which will make a tangible difference to the experiences of lorry drivers and provide much needed additional parking capacity to address the well-known shortage of spaces.
“We are pleased to see facilities operators contribute funding and commit to improving security and conditions at the sites they operate. We look forward to seeing the positive impact the funding will have across the range of projects.
Ron Perry, owner of Dan Perry & Sons, said: “The DfT welfare grant scheme goes a long way towards realising our ambitious project of delivering modern, secure and appealing facilities for lorry drivers to park overnight.
“Without the grant from the department, this project simply would not be viable for us. We very much look forward to delivering the improvements so that we can provide lorry drivers the fantastic facilities they deserve.”
Ashton Cull, RHA Policy Affairs Manager, said that while the investment is much needed and could spark improvements elsewhere “more work needs to be done on simplifying planning rules to ensure new facilities can be built quicker”.
Last month, the RHA announced it is going to be leading a new Government taskforce on roadside facilities. The business group said the taskforce will be a vital part of how they collaborate on bringing forward new lorry and coach parking to the areas most in need of additional parking capacity – working with industry and local government to attract investment and get planning approved swiftly.