Embassy Truck Stop on the Ramsgate Road at Sandwich is among 38 truckstops to receive funding to upgrade rest areas, welfare facilities and secure parking.
The grants are from a £16 million pot in joint government and industry investment to improve roadside facilities
Today (4 March), Roads Minister Guy Opperman confirmed that the truckstops will be able to make the improvements thanks to £6 million from the Department for Transport (DfT), with a further £10.5 million coming from industry.
The upgrades will include new showers and restaurants, as well as better lighting and secure fencing around rest areas so drivers can feel safer and sleep with greater peace of mind. The measures will also create around 430 new parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to free up local roads.
The improvements will also include new chargepoints to power electric HGVs and solar panels on lorry driver facilities to make them as sustainable as possible.
Guy Opperman said: “Our lorry drivers are the backbone of a successful economy, ensuring food, goods and crucial medical supplies can get where they need to be, all over the country.
“That’s why it’s only right we leave no stone unturned when it comes to supporting our lorry drivers as part of our plan to grow the economy, and today’s £16.5 million in joint government and industry funding will provide them with the safe, spacious and modern facilities they deserve.
“From the Ashford International Truck Stop in Kent to Bardon Truck Park in Leicestershire and Immingham Lorry Park in Lincolnshire, the funding will be spread across England to ensure all lorry drivers across England can benefit from better roadside facilities and better working conditions.”
The investment comes from the government’s HGV parking and driver welfare grant scheme which follows a national survey on lorry parking in 2022.
Declan Pang, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Road Haulage Association (RHA), said: “We are delighted to see the government’s match funded grant scheme being awarded to projects which will make a tangible difference to the experiences of lorry drivers and provide much needed additional parking capacity to address the well-known shortage of spaces.
“We are pleased to see facilities operators contribute funding and commit to improving security and conditions at the sites they operate. We look forward to seeing the positive impact the funding will have across the range of projects”
