I was today speaking with the landowner and girls who run the J26 Truckstop on the M25.
I was told that the council are now trying to bring about reasons not to grant a long term license for this venue. Their reasons being;-
1/ It is on green belt land (it is actually half a mile outside the green belt designated area. But this notwithstanding they are granting planning permission for a school WITHIN the green belt area because this is a vital service for the community!!! )
2/ There is no call for another truck stop as the M25 is well served (Which M25 are they using!)
3/ It will cause congestion on the local roads (It actually eases congestion as there is off road parking for as many trucks as require it)
and …
4/ There are not enough lorry drivers using the M25 to warrant it!!! (What can I say!!)
The landowner is now fighting this on behalf of the Cafe owners and has employed a guy to sit out all night counting the amount of trucks up and down the M25 on a 24 hour basis but needs the help of all you guys.
What he wants to do is corrolate all the information he can from Truckers themselves.
How many of you have trouble finding toilet facilites along the M25.
The costs of stopping at the othor Truckstops.
Lack of parking facilities in general.
Running out of hours and finding no place to park up etc etc.
All information will be taken on board, the plan being to hit the council with a big enough reason that even they can see that this is a well needed facility and that truckers are a vital part of the British workforce and not to be ignored or disregarded as lightly as these office boys seem to do so blatently.
He has asked me to gather this information for him from you guys so please put your comments onto site or email me direct.
A petition would be great at this stage so if anybody is wiling to help please let me know.
There are so few decent places to stop this Truckstop was a huge bonus, placed where it is on the route to and from the Dartford Tunnel.
I personally am sick of these desk bound councilors who sit on a chair (which arrived on a truck) behind a desk (which also arrived on a truck) in a nice cosy office, the buiding materials of which also arrived on a truck, telling us that there are not enought truckers around to warrent a truckers cafe and those that are don’t want to bother with stopping for a meal or a break.
What planet do these people live on - certainly not the one that the rest of us have to work in.
Maybe if we can beat the council at this one we can soon have another truckstop open in a much needed area along the badly served M25.
All comments will be gratefully received and well used to your advantage.
Not sure how its done but you can raise an ‘on-line’ Petition and post a link on here so everyone that wants to can visit it and sign your petition and add comments if needed.
Someone will know how to do it and I would be happy to sign if it will help the cause.
Just point out that the Council were in favour of selling off Loughton Lorry Park to the highest bidder for redevelopement which neccesitates the requirement for Jct 26 as a replacement, the difference being there were no facilities at Loughton other than to stand at the back of your truck to take a leak 
What about Romford, is there still a truckstop there? I know I use to have problems finding parking places if Loughton was full 6 years back.
I knew I’d find it somewhere.
This is the same online petition that Callum’s Mum,(Roseanne) is using.
Ken.
I run back from Manchester area to base at Basildon late a couple of times a week, if there are traffic delays occasionally I have gone over my 4.30 hour period by a few minutes (details/explanation on reverse of card) and had to park in a layby on the A127, just sitting there waiting (tired, hungry etc).
S Mimms is a disgrace and usually queues so I avoid it if possible.
At my age (58 ) needing a pee in a jam is becoming more frequent (it’ll come to you too).
Sometimes doing this job I think I have no self respect allowing myself to be treated like a tramp.
Junction 26 is vital, its in exactly the right place.
Good luck
Phil
Thanks Guys - this is exactly the sort of comments that we need to put before the council.
I reckon if we print some of this stuff off it will give the council food for thought.
Is there a contact name and address for someone we can write to at the council? I haven’t yet had the need to use the J26 stop, but I would definitely use it if I had to stop on the Northern bit of the M25 - anything preferrable to manoeuvring around the fuel queue at South Mimms 
Just thinking that a lot of well-argued letters might back up a petition very effectively (I’d write one for a start)
Any thoughts?
I was down that way today and, with an hour or so to spare, thought I’d go and introduce myself.
It was closed. Doh!
So I finished up parking in a residential street a few miles away.
sorry,i am on junction 15 on M25
but if you have a idea
What time were you down there Krankee? It opens at 6am and closes at 9pm.
They are closed on Sundays at the moment but plan to open 24 seven soon.
You were not looking at the van with the truckstop sign on it were you■■? Some people seem to think that this is the truckstop! The van is only there to hold the sign for those of you who were wondering.
It WAS Sunday.
if you don’t have the petition sorted GOTO www.petitiononline.com
if you have any problems let me know
Ah! Sorry matey - closed on Sunday for now.
Spoke to the guys there today and they would be very happy to receive any positive letters that they can collect to compile into a dossier to hand to the council when the meeting takes place. All letters from drivers explaining to the council that they DO need facilites and that drivers, like all other people do in fact need a pee from time to time would go down well.
It is another way of getting the voice of the trucker heard.
Three stopping areas on the M25 is just not enough and this must be made clear.
(Bet the councillors all have handy toilets in their office blocks!)
Please send any letters that you wish to write to
Nick Thompson
Skillett Hill Farm
Waltham Abbey
EN9
and he will collect, file and use on your behalf.
Thanks for the links to the petition. Will get that sorted and hopefully get one going at Truckfest if possible.
Just been in there for the first time.
The staff were very pleasant (apart from one of the girls spelling funnyfuts name with a ck instead of a t when I was leaving a message for mothertrucker 
)
The food was good quality & not long in coming.
I had a look in the showers while there ( they were empty) and they were very clean (if a little snug for us bigger chaps).
When the petition gets gng it’ll get my sig.
Hmmmmm! Lost the plot trying to get this on line petition thing going.
They have one in the cafe so maybe make sure we all get our names down on that.
Dear Mr. Councillor
If there is sufficient lorry parking around the M25 perhaps you would like to answer the following questions?
- Why are there lorries parking up for the night in laybys?
- Why are there lorries parking up for the night on the slip roads of motorway service areas?
- Why are there no parking spaces in either the truckstops or the Motorway Service Areas after 4pm?
Surely if you are correct, non of the above can occur? After all, at the end of a 13-15hr shift, the last thing we want to do is park up where we cannot use a toilet, get a shower or get a hot meal?