Since the Purchase or Orwell it has been a long commented discussion on here about the way the truck stop is being run.
At current all the O license holders have been booted out or had their rents raised through the roof, The cafe is shut and the showers have trebled in price.
In addition to this the free parking period has now been decreased to 1 hour with a £6 charge after this.
One of our drivers went in to the place yesterday and was told they can no longer park with Snap with immediate effect unless they have a snap card with the registration on it. I didnt even know a snap card existed and my concern with this idea is that we can add a motor to the snap account online instantly but a card will doubtlessly take days to arrive in the post.
The laughable thing is that the man behind the counter in Orwell will still then use the same PC he has used for years to put the registration into the system anyway.
From this course of conduct it is clear that the new owner has no intention of running the site as a truck stop but is instead simply looking to run it into the ground with the view to redevelop the site.
With this location gone the only close alternatives are Felixstowe BP and Beacon Hill services both of which are far smaller in capacity and facilities. this will have a severe detriment to drivers and businesses alike who operate out of Felixstowe as it wil leave drivers low on hours even further from the dock in the mornings.
There must be something we as an industry can do to save this from happening.
The only alternative is get your own parking facility. That’s what my boss has done. Leased a 50 space yard in Ipswich docks. I know it’s not viable or the majority, but if nobody is willing to build a new lorry park, there’s not a lot else you can do other than stop sending drivers down after 4pm. In my mind the docks should be forced to provide a 500 space truck park foc with showers and food on site
Is the burger van still there ?
For a major international deep sea port, the lack of facilities for drivers is disgraceful .
Years ago at Southampton docks, trucks could park inside the docks .
You could get a cheap meal in the dockers restaurant , then they kicked out the lorry parking .
There was a lady selling sandwiches from the boot of her car in the docks .
Hi! Thank you for your post. A SNAP card is not required to park we will speak with the site to dissolve the confusion if you have any SNAP related concerns please feel free to contact us on 01603777242.
toby1234abc:
Is the burger van still there ?
For a major international deep sea port, the lack of facilities for drivers is disgraceful .
Years ago at Southampton docks, trucks could park inside the docks .
You could get a cheap meal in the dockers restaurant , then they kicked out the lorry parking .
There was a lady selling sandwiches from the boot of her car in the docks .
Same happened at Hull at King George Docks. They demolished the dockers restaurant to extend a timber terminal and put up that veggie oil plant claiming there wasn’t any demand for the restaurant despite it having customers in for every minute it was open.
Perhaps we should start a truck drivers takeover/ cooperative , like football fans take their clubs over from ■■■■ owners, a fixed amount for a share.
A truckstop for the truckers by the truckers.
Orwell used to be a good place, the roast dinners were good, locals would travel miles
To eat there, good choice of meals at competitive prices .
What the hell is the new owner playing at, has he been to night classes at college on the subject of " How to alienate drivers ."
Felixstowe and the Ipswich area is pants for lgv parking , this is why Nimbies and Councils hate lorries , because there is no choice to park in urine soaked laybys with no toilet facilities .
Farmers could easily make a tarmac area on their farm, the farmers wife could earn money on catering and shower revenue .
IF, repeat IF drivers can get someone to listen at the firm they work for then about the only thing which might have some impact is for the company to write to whatever local council the truckstop comes under. Complain about the situation, mention the lack of alternative facilities should this close and the subsequent resultant parking on their industrial estates and laybys none of which have washing and more importantly toilet faciities. Make clear that you suspect that the new owners are speculators seeing a trouser-lining-oportunity from redeveloping the site and demand a reply indicating what action the council intend to take to preserve the already limited overnight parking facilities for lorries in their area. Since the letter will be read by pig-ignorant councillors who won’t know their arse from their elbow, a less than veiled hint that deliveries to postcodes within their area would have to reflect increased costs incurred should this facility close might make them take notice.
If the drivers DO NOT use the facilities, then these people will flog on THEIR business. the last 25 years has been shocking in terms of parking in this country. now councils don’t want us on industrial estates ( like, you know the very people we actually deliver to! ) lay-bys being closed, town centres a big NO NO! It’s a ■■■■■■ joke! gone are the days of town centres, little oft- known about truck stops the list goes on! Until DRIVERS do something about it, WITH FACILITIES available then we’ve only ourselves to blame.
Solidarity, UNION and backbone come to mind YELLOWBELLIES. night night. third class citizens.
the truckstop ALWAYS used to be at least 75% full every single night. Its money for old rope and anyone who ate, drank or showered there was a bonus. this aside from the people who paid for slots in the car park for changeovers, Op centres and alike who often didnt use them.
then there is the rental they will be getting from the CDC trailer. however if the business goes the way its going then the CDC people wont make money and just move out thus drawing even less people into the site.
toby1234abc:
Farmers could easily make a tarmac area on their farm, the farmers wife could earn money on catering and shower revenue .
But that would require investment, planning permission, insurance, utilities, and most of all customers who are actually willing to pay the cost of using the facilities to enable the farmer to make a profit. Drivers/hauliers are their own worse enemies
toby1234abc:
Drivers/hauliers are their own worse enemies
How so? As a business we simply factor parking into the cost of the job. Some places like Cambridge services are almost £25 a night but it is what it is. We would rather our drivers park up where they can wash, relax, eat and socialise than scrimp on a few quid and have them in a layby. Parking is as essential to a haulage company as fuel is.
A majority of drivers won’t use truckstops because it means paying for the privilege. There are many of those who will pull in, shower & use the facilities at truckstops then leave without paying for the service and park up elsewhere for free, before becoming cocooned in their cabs for the night with TV etc cooking their own food. So how can someone justify setting up a truckstop if drivers & hauliers won’t pay?
Factoring in the price of parking etc to the price of the job maybe the difference in a customer going elsewhere for less
saxtonhaulage-andre:
Parking is as essential to a haulage company as fuel is.
I’m assuming that you’re a haulier mate? If so that’s an extremely refreshing statement to hear. So so many companies either refuse to accept that and price accordingly or just leave drivers to their own devices and then ■■■■■ and moan when they receive the inevitable parking fines or suffer trailer curtain damage.
saxtonhaulage-andre:
Parking is as essential to a haulage company as fuel is.
I’m assuming that you’re a haulier mate? If so that’s an extremely refreshing statement to hear. So so many companies either refuse to accept that and price accordingly or just leave drivers to their own devices and then ■■■■■ and moan when they receive the inevitable parking fines or suffer trailer curtain damage.
Yep We run a small (now growing again) fleet of trucks from Norfolk and one of our drivers is in Orwell 5 nights a week. Parking cost is what parking cost is. Sure cheaper than having a driver attacked or getting £500 of fuel nicked every night
some places are about £28 but i would rather the driver pays £28 and gets 2 miles up the road than tries to worry about saving himself money and parks in a layby and we lose a £10k load. He can rest, freshen up and get some decent grub which isnt cooked in the microwave (sometimes )
then these people will flog on THEIR business. 
the last 25 years has been shocking in terms of parking in this country. 
now councils don’t want us on industrial estates ( like, you know the very people we actually deliver to! ) 
lay-bys being closed, town centres a big NO NO! It’s a ■■■■■■ joke! 
gone are the days of town centres, little oft- known about truck stops the list goes on! Until DRIVERS do something about it, WITH FACILITIES available then we’ve only ourselves to blame. 
night night. 
third class citizens. 
)