London, UK: Nearly £19m of funding has been allocated to 39 truckstops in England to upgrade parking and rest areas. The truckstops will each receive a share of £8m from the Department for Transport (DfT) and a further £11m from industry to significantly upgrade truck stops for lorry drivers. The improvements will improve showers, rest areas and restaurants, and increase HGV parking capacity while improving security for drivers.
This funding is part of the £100m joint government and industry investment to improve roadside facilities, supporting recruitment and workforce retention. A second round of funding opened today (11 September) for roadside operators to bid for further investment. The window will close on 20 November 2023.
Roads minister Richard Holden said: “Day and night, our lorry drivers and hauliers work tirelessly to deliver essential food, goods and medical supplies up and down the country.
“As we continue supporting the haulage sector in playing its crucial role in helping to grow the economy, these first winners will help ensure lorry drivers have great facilities where they can safely park, sleep and rest.”
The scheme draws on the National Survey on Lorry Parking, which provides evidence as to what improvements are needed and where to boost the nation’s roadside infrastructure.
Policy director at Logistics UK, Kate Jennings, said: “Today’s announcement will be welcome news for the professional drivers using the UK’s road network, who are often forced to take legally mandated rest breaks in their cabs, without access to hygiene facilities due to a chronic lack of welfare provision on key routes.
“This announcement is a positive step forward and our members operating in England will welcome the planned improvements to accessible facilities for them to access during the course of their working days.”
Richard Smith, managing director, Road Haulage Association, said: “We are pleased that the first tranche of grants has been announced and that lorry drivers will soon benefit from the improvements this scheme is helping to fund.
“We would encourage other operators to apply for funding to help them upgrade, too. Better facilities and more safe and secure parking for truckers are a key priority for our industry.”
The government’s 33 actions to support Britain’s haulage sector include investing £34m to create up to 11,000 HGV driver training places through skills bootcamps and increasing the number of HGV driver tests by 90% compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
