Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘Let lay-bys become havens for wildlife’
A rural campaigner is calling for lay-bys in Bishopsbourne to be shut because they become magnets for litter and bottles of urine.
Mike Sole lays the blame squarely at the feet of lorry drivers going to and from Dover who use the lay-bys on Bonny Bush Hill between the Frog Lane and Rose Lane junctions as rest areas.
The former Lib Dem city councillor says it is now time to shut them and allow them to become wildlife habitats.
He said: “These lay-bys serve no purpose other than as a dumping ground for urine-filled bottles, food wrappers and other waste. It is absolutely disgusting.
“This waste, which is not visible from the road has been allowed to fester for months, endangering wildlife and polluting the environment. There is no point in putting a waste bin here.
“The lay-bys are not used by cars. Let’s act now to stop lorries parking there, which will reduce traffic, make the road safer and keep our villages clean.”
Mr Sole says that as well as well rubbish and plastic bottles of urine, the lay-bys attract rats looking for food.
He wants to see them cleaned up and closed off to vehicles to allow them to become overgrown and populated by animals and insects.
“Let’s give them back to nature,” Mr Sole added.
He posted pictures of the laybys on a Facebook group for people living in the villages to the south of Canterbury and won support for his campaign.
Graham Chandler said: “I couldn’t agree more. Lorries park there all the time and the amount of rubbish that is dumped is absolutely shocking.
“It’s also the same on the slip road as you join the A2 Doverbound. Lorries park there and dump rubbish everywhere. It really is a horrible sight.”
The issue of lay-bys being used as lorry parks and attracting mess and human waste has surfaced before.
Kent County Council spokesman Thom Morris admits it is a problem and one the authority “is actively trying to combat”.
“We work closely with our colleagues at Canterbury City Council which is responsible for clearing litter and enforcing parking restrictions,” he said.
“The county has suffered from issues resulting from HGV parking for many years and the increasing numbers of lorries is only making the situation worse.”
He added that the provision of a network of overnight lorry parks is a “strategic priority” in KCC’S new Local Transport Plan, with potential sites for truckstops being looked at along the M20/ A20 and M2/A2 corridors.