Crisis point with roads and travel

Much has rightly been written and said about how poorly P&O workers have been treated.

Actions have consequences and we, in Dover, through no fault of our own, may well become another P&O victim if we are caught up in the longer term fallout of what appears corporate greed and mis-management.

April 15 signals the start of Easter and what is traditionally one of the busiest and economically important periods for the ferries, port, tunnel and tests, almost to destruction, the capacity of our local road network to cope.

With ferries lying idle in the port, all does not bode well for having these running efficiently in the foreseeable future and, with DFDS, Irish Ferries and the Tunnel no doubt already fully booked, it is highly likely, this part of East Kent will become atrafficnogo, no move area, as happened in December 2020.

This is not the fault of Dover Port, those active ferry or Tunnel operators, they will be doing the best they can, as always, with resources available to them.

Trucks are now being ‘stacked’ on the M20, and could be for some time, so what are the possible consequences when you add the potential avalanche of Easter holiday traffic?

If these trucks are not cleared quickly then hauliers will refuse to deliver into the UK. They only earn a living when their wheels are turning so they cannot afford to be in long stationary queues for hours or days on end. Result, either shortages in supermarkets and shops or their rates go up which will no doubt be passed on thus increasing inflation and, more than likely both.

Are we reaching a point where ferries and the Tunnel will have to carry freight only just to keep our economy running? Could we be heading towards a situation where, because of alackof workable ferry tonnage, and a backlog of trucks held on the M20, a State of Emergency has to be declared and the government takes control of these idle ferries for the good of both local community and nation, until all issues are resolved?

If ever there is a case for truck stops on the M20 and M2 corridors, which many of us have been making for years, this is it. Mick Tedder