Kentish Express Ashford & District
Lorry park could stay for five years
A huge post-Brexit lorry park being built close to the M20 is set to be used for five years, it has emerged.
The government is constructing the development next to Junction 10a as it prepares for disruption at the end of the transition period in December.
And new plans released last week show how bosses want to lay out the spot, which is overlooked by the historic Sevington church.
From January 1, the northern section of the development will initially be used for HMRC customs checks, with the southern part close to Church Road becoming a holding area for up to 1,500 lorries in case there is disruption at the ports.
Come the start of July, bosses hope trucks will not have to be stored on the land and it will be “purely a customs checking site”.
It is expected HMRC and Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) will then continue to check lorries on the land until 2025.
Speaking at a joint transportation board meeting last Tuesday, Toby Howe - senior highways manager at Kent County Council - said all vehicles accessing the spot will have to use
Junction 10a.
“The whole plan is everything must come and go from Junction 10a so we are not impacting Bad Munstereifel Road, Junction 10, or the hospital at all,” he said.
“It’s really key that freight comes in there and goes back out there.
“People are referring to a horrendous lorry park, but it will not be a lorry park, except there may be a few lorries having to be stored there if there are problems at the ports initially.
“It is a customs clearance site - not a lorry park.
“It will not hold 10,000 lorries; the maximum it should hold at the beginning is between 1,300 and 1,500.”
Mr Howe confirmed a “fiveyear usage” of the site is planned.
“HMRC and Defra have said they would only want it for five years,” he said.
“The plan then, I would assume, is the site would be available for further development.
“It it totally appropriate for an industrial site and all of the landscaping would still be in place.”
Since 2016, the site has had planning permission for an industrial estate which Amazon was previously linked to.
Mr Howe said the land - which has been dubbed MOJO - goes across 66 acres, not 27 as previously believed.
He said bosses will be carrying out import checks as well as export from next summer.
“The lovely assumption is that by July, it will be purely a customs checking site,” he added.
During last Tuesday’s meeting, councillors raised concerns about truckers using unauthorised roads to get to the lorry park.
But Mr Howe stressed HGV drivers will only be allowed to access the site from Junction 10a - and will face a £300 penalty if caught breaking the rules.
He says the new ‘smart freight app’ and automatic number plate recognition technology will be used to keep an eye on drivers.
Mr Howe also confirmed traffic lights will be installed on the new link road between the A2070 and Junction 10a.
The new signals - which will form the access point to the MOJO site - will allow truckers to turn right when leaving the lorry park.
Mr Howe says planning conditions agreed in 2016 when the industrial estate was given the green light are being followed.
“Wild flowers, trees and ponds are included to protect the residents who live on Church Lane [Road] very close to the building site,” he said.
“We are making sure it is user-friendly for people who live nearby... we really need to try to keep residents as happy as possible.”