Chris Steward, Leader of York’s Conservative Group and Ward councillor for Copmanthorpe, has reacted with disappointment to haulage company Celkom celebrating the launch of its new 50,000 square foot warehouse at Brocket Industrial Estate, Acaster Malbis. The company says this will enable even more vehicles to come and go from the site, in what residents believe is an accident waiting to happen.
Cllr Steward is generally loathe to criticise businesses but believes Celkom continues to operate from a totally unsuitable location which see huge lorries going on entirely unsuitable roads through rural communities. Cllr Steward said:
The expansion of Celkom is terrible news for the villages south west of York which are blighted by their lorries. Since the weight restrictions on Appleton Bridge in Bishopthorpe, residents of Bishopthorpe have had a temporary respite but that will soon stop as the bridge is repaired and they will be utterly shocked by how many, unsuitable HGVs there now are. It is rare I would not want a business to thrive but Celkom has shown itself to be an appalling neighbour which will not engage.
As residents in a village we know and accept there will be some large vehicles travelling through, but that is different to Celkom choosing to locate its haulage business in a location where its 35 tonne HGVs must always go through Copmanthorpe, Bishopthorpe or Appleton Roebuck to get anywhere at all. Whether the road surface or the nature of the tight corners, narrow lanes, passing the likes of schools; the location of Celkom’s operations is totally unsuitable. Like their industry peers they should be based by a motorway or at an industrial park which goes straight to suitable roads, they should not be based simply where the rent it cheap for them.
I have had numerous complaints from residents about traffic issues caused by Celkom vehicles and near misses as well as actual impacts. Awfully it seems when rather than if there will be an injury or worse. It cannot be right that haulage companies can locate themselves in such an unsuitable place and I believe the way transport companies are licenced must be changed to reflect the local circumstances of the roads they will be on.
