WPB Anglesey condemns the loss of 28 jobs at truck stop Road King which is a direct result of the British government’s panic decision to purchase land for a new customs post.
The Conservative government has previously been in discussion with Anglesey county council regarding plans for a HGV customs post at Anglesey showground in nearby Mona, according to an article on North Wales Live.
The government has known all along about the significance of having a customs post on the island or in Holyhead, but its procrastination and failure to agree a deal at Mona has left it frantically searching for a new site before the deadline of 31 December.
The Truck Stop, which was a joint venture with BetFred co-owner Fred Done (whose net worth is around £1 billion) and Conygar (an investment firm) was reportedly “under pressure” to sell the site. Now that a deal is done, somebody is bound to have netted a small fortune, but the Road King workers will be the ones left to suffer.
The Road Kind truck stop is an important service for the port, HGV drivers and the wider community, providing facilities and parking space for lorries and drivers to stay overnight rather than forcing them to park all over town as they used to.
Anglesey has seen a 117% rise in universal credit claims this year, while Wales as a whole has seen the sharpest rise in unemployment according to the latest figures released from the ONS. A 4.6% rise in claimants from July to September was a 28,000 increase on the April to June period.
Now, thanks to nothing but poor planning, Anglesey is to lose another 28 jobs and a vital local service.