‘I do have some sympathy with the people of Ashford’

Nigel Farage believes Kent will not become the permanent “Garden of Lorry Parks” following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The Brexit Party leader backs the initiative for the Sevington site and does not believe holdups on the county’s roads will become “catastrophic” postBrexit.

But the former parliamentary candidate does concede the new lorry customs centre will result in a “bit more traffic”.

“I do have some sympathy with the people of Ashford as the traffic around there is bad enough as it is,” he said.

“But I think we’re now putting the right things in place.

“The new customs site will result in a bit more traffic but it won’t be catastrophic.

“We’ve seen Operation Stack many times, we get it when the French strike, we get it when there’s a force 10 south-westerly gale in the Channel - Kent is used to these problems.

“For 25 years, Kent has become the temporary ‘Garden of Lorry Parks’ whenever the French go on strike.

“I’m pretty certain once this is up-and-running, there literally won’t be a massive load of difference.”

The plan is part of the government’s £705 million spend on new border controls to ensure the country is prepared to fully leave the EU at the end of this year.

Mr Farage says the plan is a step in the right direction.

“The fact we’re taking borders seriously is a very good thing,” he said.

“When it comes to delivery, well, we’ll have to see - but it’s absolutely the right thing to do and this is a sign the government is genuinely taking Brexit seriously.

“I’m quite sure that because of the ‘trusted trader’ scheme most of these trucks that come through will be known by the authorities and trusted by them. “It will speed things up.

“But we’ll now have the opportunity pull them off the M20 at Ashford and do spot checks, and that’s the right thing for us to do.”

As reported on pages 6-7, there are worries the site could become a permanent lorry park to hold HGVs overnight - a move which Mr Farage does not deem necessary.

“Frankly, if the government turn it into lorry park then they’ll be hugely unpopular there’s no reason why they need to that,” he said.

On Twitter on Monday, #FarageGarage was trending as residents reacted to the plan for the MOJO site.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage shared his thoughts with the Kentish Express after plans for the Sevington site emerged

Operation Stack on the M20