Dear All,
Many Lorry Park Alliance (LPA) members will not have seen this week’s Hythe and Romney Marsh edition of the Kentish Express and consequently will have missed Michael Howard’s excellent report on Operation Stack and the proposed Lorry Park under the Our Man in Westminster byline. Michael draws attention to the need for an alternative to be found to implementing Operation Stack whenever the Channel Tunnel or the cross-Channel ferries are out of action – a sentiment that is echoed by the Lorry Park Alliance.
Michael goes on to say that:
"One of the difficulties is that there is no agreement on what action should be taken. The recent proposal to build a lorry park between Aldington and Sellindge led, understandably, to widespread and vociferous local opposition. People rightly wanted to know whether every alternative had been fully considered and precisely why this site was thought to be the only answer. This information has not been forthcoming and in its absence I have fully supported the objections of local residents. Another difficulty is, predictably, cost. This is a national problem and the cost should be met by central government. But there have been no indications that this help will be made available even if there is agreement on what the solution should be.
This is a very frustrating state of affairs."
Michael’s words so accurately reflect our position that they could almost have been written by an LPA member. That said, and for the avoidance of doubt, Michael Howard is very much his own man and is not an LPA member, but he nevertheless has taken a keen interest in the issues.
This well measured assessment of the situation from a very experienced politician of Michael Howard’s standing is in sharp contrast to the biased and logically flawed letter from Paul Carter, Leader of KCC, that is also published in this week’s Kentish Express.
Mr Carter’s letter appears under the heading "Moveable barrier not the solution" and starts by stating the blindingly obvious that "the Quick Moveable Barrier (QMB) is not, and was never intended to be, the long-term solution to Operation Stack and overnight lorry parking ….".
He goes on to say that "Extending it [the QMB] ….. does not solve the problem of lorries parking overnight in our villages and lay-bys." To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever seriously suggested that the QMB could, would, or even should, solve the problem of overnight lorry parking. The LPA has always maintained that the problem of overnight lorry parking and Operation Stack are separate issues that require separate analysis and resolution – they are two distinct, separate problems. This is where we differ radically from Mr Carter who, seemingly, takes the view that both issues relate to lorries and therefore it must be one problem that requires one ‘big bang’ solution – his grand vision of the Aldington–Smeeth lorry park.
In his letter Mr Carter states "I have been personally involved in the search for the site." This is a somewhat curious claim, as Mr Carter had held the KCC Education Portfolio from his election to KCC in 1997 until he became Leader of KCC in October 2005, and yet all of the 40-odd potential Operation Stack lorry park sites examined by consultants acting for KCC and the Highways Agency were identified and evaluated between 1999 and mid-2005. Indeed, the Aldington–Smeeth site was first put forward by consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff, acting for the Highways Agency, in November 2000. As reported in LPA email newsletter No. 9, that proposal was soundly rejected by a joint committee of Ashford Borough Councillors and Kent County Councillors in January 2001.
Mr Carter goes on to say, "We have looked far and wide at all the alternative options, eventually assessing 10 other sites ….. before reaching a decision." This statement by Mr Carter is at complete odds with the statement made last week by one of KCC’s most senior Highways Officers, and put into the public domain by KCC’s own legal department (see LPA email newsletter No. 9), where it was stated that "….. there was far less information available than the requester would suppose and that the Council [KCC] did not want to cause concern regarding alternative sites when they had not been fully considered." [my emphasis added].
Finally, Mr Carter states, "Naming the other sites will unnecessarily blight those areas and serves no useful purpose." But as Michael Howard MP has astutely identified and robustly stated (see above) "People rightly wanted to know whether every alternative had been fully considered and precisely why this site was thought to be the only answer." Of course, we now know that it has nothing to do with blight on other sites, but, as KCC Officers have admitted, it boils down to the fact that "alternative sites ……….had not been fully considered."
There are several other points with which I could take issue in Mr Carter’s letter, but I’m confident LPA members can spot them themselves. I think it’s important that LPA members should make known their views on Mr Carter’s letter, and indeed on the other Lorry Park items, in this week’s Kentish Express by writing to the Editor of the Kentish Express and that your letters and emails should be copied to both Michael Howard MP and Damian Green MP (contact details below). I have resisted suggesting that you write to, or email, Mr Carter, as we know from past experience that he never seems to receive most of your letters/emails.
Incidentally, as a related aside, until very recently Mr Carter, in all seriousness, claimed not to be aware that Ashford Borough Council was opposed to his proposals for Aldington-Smeeth.
By way of political balance, I note that the Kentish Express also has a letter from Hazel and Steve Dawe of the Kent Green Party in which they state "Kent can do without the proposed lorry parks for Aldington ……... given the limited size of the Aldington site". They, like many others, have spotted that, even given conservative freight growth estimates, from its first day of operation a Lorry Park at Aldington-Smeeth would be too small to cope with capacity requirements for either overnight lorry parking or Operation Stack.
Finally, a brief word about the work being done by Cllrs Susan Carey and Charles Findlay at KCC. Both Susan and Charles have made their opposition to the current Lorry Park proposals very clear and are using their positions as KCC Councillors to full advantage. At the last Highways Advisory Board on 16th September, Susan challenged the KCC Director of Highways to tell the Board, and local people, just what was happening with the Lorry Park scheme. The answer given was that KCC is commissioning consultants to prepare a business case for the Lorry Park proposal. You’ll note that they are not commissioning consultants to look at:
* the problem of ever-rising road freight volumes through Kent; or
* the need for, and parameters of, a regional, national and pan-European freight strategy; or
* how overnight lorry parking throughout Kent might be resolved; or
* how Operation Stack could be better run; or
* all the options for dealing with the problems caused by Stack; or even
* a proper evaluation of possible sites for lorry parks.
No, KCC simply want the consultants to make a case for the 'solution' that has already been selected.
The KCC Highways Advisory Board is webcast, and you can see the full question and answer session at:
http://www.kent.ukcouncil.net/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=17559&t=&m=wm
&l=en_GB
You can jump to the relevant part of the meeting by clicking on the "Index Points" tab, then scrolling down to 26.35 minutes into the meeting and clicking on "Miss S Carey". Susan poses four questions, of which the Lorry Park is the final one, but I think you will find all four questions and answers of interest.
I will continue to keep you fully informed as matters progress. If you are aware of anyone who wishes to be kept in touch, but who has not received this email, please ask them to contact me by email so that their details can be added to the distribution list.
I must again stress that my colleagues and I are not opposed to a solution for either Operation Stack or for overnight lorry parking. However, we are opposed to these current proposals, which are ill-conceived and hastily cobbled together with inadequate evaluation of alternatives and without consultation. We also consider that KCC is seeking to impose a wholly local solution to a problem that is in fact a national and pan-European issue.
Thank you all for your continuing support.
Regards,
Peter
Cllr Peter Wood
Saxon Shore Ward
Member of the Executive
Ashford Borough Council
and
Chairman, Aldington & Bonnington Parish Council
Please reply to: peter.wood@ashford.gov.uk
Contact details for your letters and emails regarding this week’s Kentish Express:
The Editor,
Kentish Express,
Express House,
34-36 North Street,
Ashford,
Kent,
TN24 8JR.
Email: kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk
………….
The Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP,
House of Commons,
London,
SW1A 0AA.
Email: howardm@parliament.uk
………….
Damian Green MP,
House of Commons,
London,
SW1A 0AA.
Email: greend@parliament.uk
