Transport ministers are failing residents

Residents whose houses back on to the proposed site of a huge lorry park have been having one-to-one meetings with government officials. It is all well and good residents are kept in the loop over what is going to happen in their back garden.

Individual meetings with every villager living adjacent to the site seems a longwinded process which cuts out a large proportion of everyone else who will be affected. Discussions of the plans should be fully open for all to see.

Even some villagers have not been informed just because their house is not directly backing on to the area, where up to 3,600 lorries could be diverted in a bid to end Operation Stack – which, incidentally, has not been in place for almost a year now.

Residents of Shepway and Ashford at large will be directly affected and have a right to know exactly what is going on.

As many people as possible need to be informed of the exact nature of the plans.

This week we are informed Highways England has admitted it may need even more land than it originally proposed.

Villagers are right to be fuming if this is the case, and any attempt to increase the size of the park will no doubt be resisted.

The manner in which government and transport bosses are handling, or not handling, a very delicate situation leaves a lot to be desired.