Overnight HGV parking should be considered in planning decisions and when DCs are proposed, according to new government guidelines.

The move, welcomed by the RHA, should ensure driver welfare is taken into account by local authorities when coming to their decisions.

In an updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), it states: “Planning policies and decisions should recognise the importance of providing adequate overnight lorry parking facilities, taking into account any local shortages, to reduce the risk of parking in locations that lack proper facilities or could cause a nuisance.

“Proposals for new or expanded distribution centres should make provision for sufficient lorry parking to cater for their anticipated use.”

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The new guidelines follow a consultation earlier this year, in which respondents highlighted a “need nationally for additional lorry parking”.

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett described the inclusion of HGV parking in the guidelines as a “victory for common sense” and that it wanted to see councils working to the framework.

Chrys Rampley, RHA infrastructure manager, said: “The RHA has been lobbying for many years to get the recognition and understanding by authorities that lorry parking and driver welfare provision is needed.

“This provision must be at the heart of the planning process, particularly when large scale industrial and retail developments are being considered.

“Only time will tell, but the NPPF document and the recently published national lorry parking survey will help local authorities identify where provision is required.”

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