Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter
Lorry drivers are having to park in laybys and shopping centre car parks because of a lack of official facilities, councillors have been told.
Public health concerns have been raised due to hauliers having no official place to stop or facilities to use as they arrive into the Anglesey town.
Holyhead port is the UK’s second busiest roll-on roll-off ferry port.
Lorry drivers arriving in the town on their way to Ireland would previously have been able to use the RoadKing truck stop on Parc Cybi, but this was closed after HMRC took over the site to create a customs facility following Brexit.
A separate Welsh Government site at plot nine at Parc Cybi, which cost more than £50m, and was also created in the wake of the Brexit vote, remains unused.
During a meeting of Anglesey County Council’s corporate scrutiny committee on Wednesday, October 10, members raised concerns about the effect a lack of lorry facilities was having on the town, and drivers themselves.
Ynys Gybi Cllr Dafydd Rhys Thomas said: “The people in Holyhead have had enough of trucks parking up everywhere.
“If you lived in the area you’d see the problems with the public health, with drivers having to use the toilet for example, there are no toilets facilities for them to use.
“These drivers are key workers, we should look after them much better in Anglesey.
“If something happens, at the port or in stormy weather, and that’s going to happen in winter, what plans do you have for that?
“I know it is something the Government is looking at, we have ‘plot nine’ in Holyhead. It has cost at least £52m, it’s just standing there doing nothing.”
Post-Brexit
The Welsh Government-owned plot nine site was set up for post-Brexit border controls, specifically to check EU-imported goods, including live animals, plants and animal products, but is empty and now unused.
The nearby former RoadKing truck stop was closed to create a HMRC inland border facility service.
In recent years, Holyhead has been hit by recurring issues of lorry drivers having to park in unsuitable locations around the town. Last year, a supermarket introduced new rules and surveillance cameras following issues over lorry parking.
Earlier this year, the Local Democracy Reporting Serving reported that an Anglesey councillor Robert Llewelyn Jones had called for urgent support for lorry drivers and raised concerns over pedestrian safety.
Helen Kilgannon, regional manager for North Wales Councils’ Regional Emergency Planning Service, told the meeting: “Obviously, we have concerns about trucks, we have been working with our LRF (local resilience forum) partners to make sure that any stacking arrangements are put in place if there are any delays at the port.
“The Welsh Government is leading on some of that work and obviously they are not here to comment today.
“What I can say, our LRS partners; the police, the fire, we have plans in place for stacking so that things can be put into place, so there are toilets, and other facilities, as time progresses and there are delays.
“In terms of Parc Cybi, that is a government owned building. I don’t think I could comment.”
Promised support
Tref Cybi Cllr Jeff Evans added: “We’ve been promised support for the port, especially for lorry drivers and the community affected by them, nothing really is happening.
“They are not only in all the shopping centres but obviously, in all the lay-bys, and as the councillor indicated, with no toilets. They have to have toilets. It is a major issue.”
Ms Kilgannon added: “We are looking at using the matrix signs as people are coming from Flintshire, and down the A-roads making sure they are aware of a closure, so they can stop before they reach the island.
“It’s also part of the stacking arrangements. We are also working with the Welsh Government on how we can support drivers.”
Cllr Dafydd Rhys Thomas stated: “This is of great concern to us. If lorries are taking up lay-bys on the A55, there is nowhere for anyone else to pull over in an emergency, it creates a further problem.
“It would be good if you could put some pressure on, we have been living with this since the truck stop shut after Brexit. We don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”
Far from happy
Bro Aberffraw Cllr Arfon Wyn added: “I’m far from happy about the answers about Holyhead. I have a friend who drives large wagons in European countries, when there is an emergency there, he says they are always treated like important people, valued, and they have lots of services.
“The lorry drivers say the provision of services driving to Ireland are a disgrace. The effect on the town is a disgrace.
“There should be somewhere for these people to wash and use facilities.”
He urged councillors to lobby the Welsh Government to press for a solution, and to get European standard facilities “out of respect for the people who do this valuable work”.
The council’s deputy leader Cllr Robin Williams felt problem dated back to the closure of RoadKing.
He said: “We know now, there has been an agreement reached and those checks are not going to be necessary any more.
“I feel the UK Government should give that piece of land back into use for those lorry drivers.
“RoadKing was ideal for the lorry drivers, there were toilets, showers and other facilities.”
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