‘Shocking and appalling’ lack of planning at Dover

THE government’s lack of preparation for Dover’s roads after the UK’s departure from the EU has been labelled “shocking and appalling”.

It comes after a Dover District Council Brexit impact report was leaked to Sky News , in which a number of concerns have been raised about how the government isn’t ready for potential traffic chaos.

Work has only just started on a temporary solution to Operation Stack in anticipation of new customs or regulatory checks that could come into effect at the Channel Tunnel and Port of Dover and would take longer.

Known as Operation Brock, the solution involves all four lanes of the M20 coastbound carriageway on a 13-mile stretch between Maidstone and Ashford being converted into a lorry park for 2,000 vehicles.

The hard shoulders are being strengthened to sustain the weight of hundreds of parked articulated lorries and once implemented, the northbound carriageway will then have a contraflow system of two lanes each for regular traffic in both directions.

But now it has emerged that a “permanent solution will not be in place for many years” until “2023 at the earliest” and the temporary system will be in force during that time.

According to the Dover District Council report, which was written last month, the “implications of changes to border and customs arrangements are substantial”.

‘There does not appear to be a Plan B’ The report says: “Capacity problems within the Port of Dover, and the knock-on effects on transport flows within the district, and wider transport network, are a major concern.

“We therefore need urgent clarity on post Brexit arrangements, adequate support to keep trade flowing and transport networks moving and need to consider contingency plans for the possibility of a hard/highfriction Brexit.

“Operation Brock, the interim plan to avoid cross-channel congestion, needs to be delivered before any change to customs arrangements in March 2019, but a start date for necessary roadworks has not yet been announced and there does not appear to be a Plan B.

“A permanent solution will not be in place for many years, if enacted through current planning processes and procedures.”