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The Highways Agency (HA) says it turned down the application by Orwell Crossing Lorry Park to build an office on its land because it would become a "destination in its own right". The decision to stop the Suffolk truck park being used as a registered operating centre for licensed hauliers was also made amid concerns about access off the A14 trunk road. The local council is now trying to set up a meeting  between park owner Karl Rout and the HA to resolve their complaints, although no date has yet been arranged.

An e-mail from Suffolk Coastal District Council development control manager Paul Coffey to the HA and council representatives states: "The purpose of the meeting would be to clarify the planning position regarding the site and to see whether there is any scope for 'additional' uses on the site on a temporary or permanent basis." However, an HA spokesman says planning permission was refused "due to concerns that part of the Orwell Crossing Lorry Park would be used as a basis for business operations by the applicant.

"[This] would contradict the premise that the site is not used as a destination in its own right and would therefore require an application for a change of use of the site."