Onroute Avon Lodge Truck Stop gets award

West Country lorry park receives Park Mark Freight accreditation

The Avon Lodge Truck Stop has received the Park Mark Freight Award. This is a new assessment managed by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives and the British Parking Association that seeks to enhance the lorry parks and the facilities the offer.

Kate Williams, manager of Avon Lodge said: “We have always made security within our lorry park a top priority, we are in the process of investing in additional CCTV cameras and hope this will bring even more reassurance to drivers when they park up for the night. We are very proud to have been accredited by Park Mark Freight and we look forward to being able to display our certificate.”

Chas Cannon, BPA area manager for the South West and South Wales, said: “I am delighted that Avon Lodge has joined the Safer Parking Scheme and has become the second site in the South West to achieve the Park Mark Freight award. It demonstrates their hard work and commitment to providing a safe environment for all users. It is becoming increasingly more important to provide safe and secure facilities for drivers and their vehicles and I hope others will follow.”

Pete Wozniak, Designing Out Crime officer, said: “It gives me great pleasure to present this award to Onroute Avon Lodge, it demonstrates that safety and

Park Mark Freight award for The Stop

The Stop at The Hollies in Cannock, Staffordshire, has received Park Mark Freight award, which recognises lorry parking facilities that actively deter crime and reduce the fear of crime.

Mike Heaton, head of estate development for roadside services at Certas Energy, said: “We are delighted to have received this prestigious industry award. The commendation helps to reinforce and independently affirm our dedication to improving the safety and security of driver facilities in the UK, one stop at a time.”

Matt Robinson, BPA area manager, said: “We were impressed with the time and care taken to uphold and champion the highest standards at the site. This award demonstrates the value of the roadside facilities on offer and how important driver welfare, site security, and creating a safe environment is to Certas Energy.”

Kully Tanda, Designing Out Crime officer, from Staffordshire Police said: “The commitment shown by the operators of The Hollies Truck Stop to put in place a range of security measures that will reduce criminal opportunity, providing a more secure and safer environment for hauliers and drivers over the long term is welcomed by Staffordshire Police.” security measures have been implemented at the site. The facility offers 24-hour staff onsite, CCTV, and good lighting and provides drivers, their vehicles, and goods a secure place to park. The award shows that Onroute Avon Lodge has a clear commitment to the road haulage community.”

Park Mark Freight marks an extension of Safer Parking to truck stops and lorry parks that meets a growing demand for efficient, well-managed, and high-quality lorry parks and truck stops in order to combat vehicle and cargo crime. The freight industry experiences a high volume of cargo theft and the main Safer Parking Scheme assessment guidelines do not explicitly cover this type of business.

Park Mark Freight builds upon the Safer Parking Scheme’s Park Mark award by introducing essential criteria. The Park Mark is primarily aimed at the prevention of criminal behaviour within the parking environment. It requires owners and operators to adopt an active management strategy to ensure that there is minimal occurrence of crime.

To be granted Park Mark Freight, a parking facility must demonstrate a range of responsibilities, which include low crime, measures in place to enhance the safety of people and vehicles, good management and operations, and exemplary customer service.

Accredited facilities are subject to an annual assessment to ensure these high standards are maintained.