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The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has welcomed a government policy document which confirms that the Highways Agency (HA) will be given more authority to influence where truck parks should be built. However, the trade association says the Department for Transport document fails to address the lack of parking facilities for truck drivers across the country.

The document,  Policy on Service Areas and Other Roadside Facilities on Motorways and All-Purpose Trunk Roads in England, says the HA can influence the provision of roadside facilities. It also says truckstops must have a minimum of 30 parking spaces for LGVs and have requirements for abnormal loads.

The FTA's head of road network management policy, Malcolm Bingham, says the HA's influence could reduce 'NIMBY'-style planning decisions, which fail to take into account a dearth of facilities. He adds: "We need a national strategy. It's become so fragmented.

"One of the problems is that some [facilities] are empty and some are oversubscribed. We need to identify where the real need is." An HA spokeswoman says the document should encourage Motorway Service Area (MSA) operators to work more closely with the agency. She adds that the HA is also looking at introducing a star-rating 'quality scheme' to raise MSA standards.