Only 0.4% of RHA members bothered to give feedback on Kent HGV parking ban

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A prominent critic of Kent’s HGV parking ban has revealed that only 3 of 750 RHA members have responded to emails from the RHA requesting feedback on the ban and the parking situation in the county.

Sebastian Barrow, who has been leading the charge to have Kent’s parking ban scrapped, says he was recently informed about the lack of feedback during his communications with the RHA.

Reacting to the news that only 0.4% of RHA members responded to the request for feedback on the HGV parking ban, Mr Barrow urged drivers and hauliers not to “let apathy win the day”.

Of the 3 RHA members who replied, one was from a member in Ashford supporting the ban.

Writing in the Kent Hauliers and Driver Facebook Page, Mr Barrow stressed that merely moaning would not be enough to have the ban scrapped. He also made a plea to those in the industry to act now before HGV parking bans are introduced in other regions across the UK:

Unless the companies can get behind this fight then you, the driver, are the one who is having to juggle everything to avoid the inconvenience and expense of getting clamped. It does need you to get this message over, otherwise it is going to become a fact of life of parking bans not only in Kent but possibly throughout the UK. Now, if you are happy to live with this, then so be it. It makes no difference to me as I am retired and living my life with family in Thailand. It is you guys and gals that I feel sorry for. Being an ex-driver I wholeheartedly support you all. Hence why I took up the fight on your behalves. Some of you have written to MPs or local councillors. Well done for raising your objections to this ban. It needs more of you and especially company bosses to do the same thing to bring pressure to bear. The ball is now totally in your court to do something about it. Talk to your bosses and other colleagues and drum up some support. In fact a helluva lot more support! And do not forget the Consultation Document!

According to police statistics cited by Kent Online in March, only 17% of the trucks clamped in Kent for parking infringements are registered in the UK.

Therefore, it appears that the Kent parking issues is a proportionally greater problem for foreign hauliers compared to British ones. This could also be one of the reasons behind the fact so few members responded to the RHA’s request.

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