Trucks parking in Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, sparks row

A social media row exploded online after Suffolk County Councillor Chris Chambers posted about HGVs parking outside Masons Landfill in Great Blakenham last week.

The post now has more than 970 comments, with hundreds of truckers sharing their frustration, while locals applaud the action taken.

Among the measures, is a new “red card” system for truckers who repeatedly park illegally on the B1113, which will result in a three-month ban.

Suffolk County Councillor, Chris Chambers. (Image: Chris Chambers)

A traffic marshal is also now in place at the site, with trucks banned from arriving before 6.45am.

Cllr Chambers said: "This is not about being anti-lorry.

"HGVs are an essential part of our economy.

"However, the public highway cannot be used for parking, and illegally parked vehicles create real safety risks for other road users, particularly in the early morning."

Staff from Mason Landfill will also carry out patrols around Great Blakenham before 6.45am to search for vehicles parked illegally and issue a red card if caught.

Any vehicles that turn up before 6.45am will be turned away and not accepted for at least an hour.

Cllr Chambers said there would be no tolerance to drivers considering parking further along the B1113 to avoid being seen by a marshal.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said it recognised that the lorry drivers had a job to do but it was not fair on residents living near the site to have their roads and community disrupted by queuing HGVs. 

The spokesman said: "We accept Masons Landfill has taken steps to try and mitigate the effects of these vehicles waiting to get in but this is a commercial arrangement with hauliers for them to manage,

 "These lorries don't need long-distance parking provision between origin and destination to allow for driver breaks, which is where lorry parking would come in to play.

 "As a council we are under no obligation to provide a designated waiting area, it is on Masons Landfill to devise a way of addressing this situation."

The decision has sparked outrage from truckers, with one driver commenting, "without us you have nothing" and another exclaiming "they're just doing their job!"

Chris Williams, a truck driver based in Middlesbrough, also pointed to a lack of suitable parking as the root issue.

He said: "They have to park somewhere to unload at their destination.

"They simply cannot all plan to arrive at 6.45am or they will all still be parked on the roadside waiting to go into the site."

Trucks outside Anna Jacobs' window in the early hours of the morning. (Image: Anna Jacobs)

On the other side, Anna Jacobs, who has been living in the village for seven years, says the noise outside her window every morning is "unacceptable".

She said: "It wouldn't be so bad if they could turn engines off and not hoot at each other."

A spokesman from the Road Haulage Association added: “Our assessment is that there is a national shortage of around 11,000 overnight lorry parking places.

"Allowing insufficient, substandard and often unsafe lorry parking to continue unaddressed is not acceptable.

"Having a lack of adequate parking places results in inappropriate parking and noise that impacts local residents

"However, we urge lorry drivers to ensure they are parked legally and to follow any directions from the authorities.”