Kentish Express Ashford & District
Ex-driver calls for deliveries to be stopped over parking ban
Lorry drivers should make a stand and stop delivering goods to Ashford until the council pulls the plug on a controversial clamping trial, it has been suggested.
Retired trucker Chris Butler says the new scheme – which will ban HGV drivers from parking on the A20 between Charing and the Drovers roundabout – is a “ridiculous” idea.
The 78-year-old, of Canterbury Road, Charing, is calling on drivers to abandon their deliveries to the town so Ashford Borough Council realises how important their service is.
“There should be a total ban on lorry deliveries to Ashford,” he said.
“They should stop delivering to the town and it would show how important delivery firms are.
“I think if they gave it a month without delivering anything, the council would soon realise how important it is and trade would grind to a halt.”
The A20 parking ban, which will be introduced on Monday, October 30, will run overnight from 8pm to 7am – and drivers will have to pay a £250 fine to get the clamp released.
It follows numerous complaints from residents concerned about drivers pulling up close to homes and junctions on the A20.
An overnight waiting restriction is already in force on the Ashford Business Park and Orbital Park in Sevington, as well as at Ellingham Industrial Estate and Wotton Road.
Mr Butler, who drove for a Dartford-based ironmongery firm for 25 years, said: “If they
What do you think? Write to Kentish Express, Unit 4, Park Mall Shopping Centre Ashford, TN24 8RY or email kentishexpress@thekmgroup. co.uk stopped and made a stand against it, Ashford’s shops wouldn’t have any trade as everything comes in on the lorries.
“I think the ban is ridiculous as drivers have to stop for a required number of hours, but they will now be breaking the law if they stop in a lay-by.
“It is another way for the council to make more money, and stopping deliveries would be a protest against it.”