Preventing HGVs from using a layby stopover for exceptionally long stays

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:21:31 GMT

Hi all, On the A4 in our area, on a mainly rural stretch of the road, we have a service road of around 250m length that for decades has been used by HGVs as a useful layby rest area / tacho break site /overnight (and daytime) sleep spot for drivers. We now have a row of new properties within the length of the service road. Residents park on-street as the parking provision for the new properties is insufficient and residents complain the sloped driveway of their new houses are too steep. We have a burger van that operates 8am-10pm from the service road as well. We have had complaints from residents since they moved in about the HGVs, but have batted them off as they should have known this was used by HGVs. But we now have a different HGV problem as a resident who has bought a close-by derelict garage and workshop and is working on HGVs that he buys up then advertises for sale on eBay and parks them for days and weeks at a time in the service road. This is preventing the burger van from setting up, it's preventing residents from parking up and preventing genuine HGV drivers in need of a rest from accessing the area. It’s not a DVSA enforcement issue as far as we can tell as most of the HGVs he leaves on highway are Taxed and MOTd. Our local Councillor is demanding we ‘do something’ but there doesn’t seem to be an obvious parking restriction that could address this without it affecting the other users mentioned. Might a sign such as the one below be permitted (if would presumably need DfT Authorisation as it’s not a permitted variant) but I’m struggling how to address this and am sure this type of thing has been experienced as we want to prevent HGVs parking for a day of more but allow residents to park as long as they want and the burger van to park for it's licenced 14 hours and genuine HGV drivers to stay and sleep if nec. It's not a suitable site for a Permit parking scheme. . Advice would be welcomed as I'm stuck and we're being accused by local Councillor of just passing the buck to DVSA and ignoring the problem.

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:54:44 GMT

I'd run this past DfT and see what they think, they may have come across a similar situation in the past. I suspect that the sign, suitably authorised, should do the job, allowing that the HGV resident is likely to complain. If you put "within 24 hours" on two lines, the sign would be narrower. Perhaps you could also set up a length of road with parking bays for the residents cars and a separate one for HGVs, using S5-1-1 with -3 or -5 supplementary plates? If the sign is authorised, the problem then becomes who is going to enforce it?

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:39:55 GMT

You may wish to speak to your county solicitor about this. There are a couple of Acts of parliament that make it illegal to sell vehicles on the Highway:
https://www.swansea.gov.uk/article/4577/Cars-being-sold-by-the-side-of-the-road#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20offence%20to,of%20up%20to%20%C2%A31000.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/take-legal-action-against-nuisance-parking#:~:text=to%20%C2%A32%2C500.-,Stop%20a%20business%20selling%20vehicles%20on%20a%20road,lay%2Dby%20refreshment%20stalls

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 16:08:03 GMT

Quote:

Originally posted by A. Harris:
You may wish to speak to your county solicitor about this. There are a couple of Acts of parliament that make it illegal to sell vehicles on the Highway:
https://www.swansea.gov.uk/article/4577/Cars-being-sold-by-the-side-of-the-road#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20offence%20to,of%20up%20to%20%C2%A31000.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/take-legal-action-against-nuisance-parking#:~:text=to%20%C2%A32%2C500.-,Stop%20a%20business%20selling%20vehicles%20on%20a%20road,lay%2Dby%20refreshment%20stalls

Aha!! Good point!! I'd forgotten about s3 of Clean Neighbourhoods & Environment Act 2005 as I was entirely fixated on trying to find a traffic signs solution. This resident doesn't have any notices on the windscreens of these HGVs and you wouldn't necessarily know for sure the vehicles were for sale unless you were looking on Ebay (in this case that's where he's advertising them but may also be using Autotrader and other online sites). As the legislation reads '....two or more motor vehicles parked within 500 metres of each other on a road or roads where they are exposed or advertised for sale...' then online proof should be sufficient if the registration is clearly shown online.

Thanks for that! Reminder to self that 'Not every traffic problem needs an engineering solution'

Next problem will be to get our Legal team to take action.

As for enforcement of a parking restriction if that sign I mocked up got DfT authorisation, as our CEOs regularly travel along the A4 to get to a couple of other towns for patrolling that could have been possible. Note the vehicle is there as they pass in the morning and again in the afternoon and if it's still there the following day issue a PCN...

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 18:07:57 GMT

Regarding the sign, if it were authorised, I assume that would mean that only 5T vehicles would be able to park, and that therefore residents would be effected? You could perhaps consider as an alternative an HGV parking ban that only operated for an hour a day, e.g. 10-11am? Presumably the burger van would be less that 5T!

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:03:51 GMT

Quote:

Originally posted by A. Harris:
Regarding the sign, if it were authorised, I assume that would mean that only 5T vehicles would be able to park, and that therefore residents would be effected? You could perhaps consider as an alternative an HGV parking ban that only operated for an hour a day, e.g. 10-11am? Presumably the burger van would be less that 5T!

You're not meant to notice that..... yeah I realise that variation of diag 661.1 is not going to do the trick is it... I guess it's s3 Clean Neighbourhoods or nothing..

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 09:46:58 GMT

Quote:

Originally posted by A. Drysdale:

Quote:

You're not meant to notice that..... yeah I realise that variation of diag 661.1 is not going to do the trick is it... I guess it's s3 Clean Neighbourhoods or nothing..

Well at least it's off your desk then! haha.