Kent County Council to Announce Location for Operation Stack Busting Lorry Park
Kent Online are reporting that Kent County Council says it is ready to announce a location for a semi-permanent lorry park to ease the pressures caused by Operation Stack.
In the last week, Kent Police has had to close sections of the M20 for more than three days - the longest implementation since the opening of the M20. The storms hitting Kent today have closed the Port of Dover and after a brief removal over the last 24 hours, it is expected Operation Stack will be reimposed this afternoon.
KCC leader Paul Carter confirmed on Saturday that the site of the park, set to cost around £35 million, is set to be revealed. He said:
"We think we have now got our preferred solution and we have a meeting on Tuesday to dot the Is and cross the Ts. Following that, we will be making an announcement as to the location of our preferred site. It will then be up to the Government to find a way of funding that."
Operation Stack closes sections of the M20 to use as lorry parking whilst cross channel services are disrupted. Phase one of Operation Stack is to close the M20 from J11 to J12, which passes the Channel Tunnel's Cheriton Terminal.
Councillor for Cheriton ward in Folkestone Tim Prater welcomed the news of the announcement of the lorry park. He said:
"Folkestone and surrounding areas cannot continue to deal with the impact that Operation Stack has on local roads. We become the Country's lorry park, and are cut off from the rest of the Country.
"A lorry park should have two benefits - not just dealing with Operation Stack but also giving a facility for lorries to park up at other times. This would allow us to tackle the real problems of lorry drivers stopping in unsuitable places across the area to take their legally required break.
"Lorry drivers need decent facilities, and local residents want to see the end of Operation Stack and anti-social lorry parking in unsuitable areas. A well thought through lorry park near the M20, built to the highest environmental standard possible, would give the chance to meet both those aims."
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