Campaigners have warned a council which has banned lorry drivers from staying overnight on an industrial estate “not to bite the hand that feeds them”.
National campaign group Truckers Toilets UK said while it sympathised with residents near Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, Hambleton District Council’s Public Space Protection Order would not tackle the root of the issue.
Earlier this month, the authority approved a trial of the order, which would see officers empowered to fine anyone staying overnight in vehicles on the estates up to £100.
If the trial is considered successful, it is proposed to launch a second Public Space Protection Order at Thirsk Industrial Estate.
Recent late evening spot checks have shown up to 40 vehicles are parked on each estate or surrounding area on most weekday evenings, leading to complaints the areas were being used as “open toilets”.
The council said multi-agency discussions had not identified a suitable long-term solution to the concerns about persistent anti-social behaviour by lorry drivers.
Ahead of considering the order, the council held a public consultation which found 62 per cent of all respondents were opposed to the ban in Thirsk and 47 per cent at Leeming Bar.
However, 75 per cent and 61 per cent of residents and traders at Leeming Bar and Thirsk, respectively were in favour of the ban.
Introducing the order, Councillor Bridget Fortune, the authority’s leisure boss, said: “We want a better quality of life, we do not want open toilets as a result of lorry parking.”
Former lorry driver and haulage firm boss Samantha Bradley, of Truckers Toilets UK, said councils such as Hambleton, which prides itself on being a business-friendly authority, were taking “a big stick approach” to lorry drivers and failing to consider why there was a shortage of 60,000 lorry drivers nationally.
She said: “Nobody should have to put up with the consequences of the lack of facilities facing drivers.
“Employment brings heavy haulage, so there should be somewhere set aside for facilities for drivers. You can’t just bite the hand that feeds you.
“Without haulage you have got nothing, yet drivers are being treated in this way. In France and Germany drivers are given facilities and treated like professionals.”
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