Leader of Ashford Borough Council
I fully recognise the problems caused by overnight lorry parking in the borough and also by operation stack, both of which have frequently caused considerable inconvenience to the residents of the borough.
Neither I nor the Council’s officers have been presented with any clearly evidenced rationale that off-motorway parking of the sort proposed is the right solution. Even if that case were to be made, we would still need to be convinced that the site proposed is the best available and that it is sustainable in terms of the medium to long term projections for freight traffic. In addition, this project is currently unfunded and the government has declared that they will not pay for it, and so I believe that this proposal is unlikely to happen in the near future.
I am a great supporter of the Quick Moveable Barrier (QMB) and as such I wish it to be given a fair test and then, if successful, extended to between Junction 8 and Junction 9 – a proposal that was I understand put forward by the government, but rejected by Kent County Council. Such a QMB would at least keep Kent moving and would also use the substantial tarmac surfaces already extant rather than concreting over 70+ acres of Kentish green field. So in response to the question as to whether I support the current proposals from Kent County Council? My answer must be that ‘No I do not’ as I strongly believe that there are other solutions yet to be explored.
This leaves the question of overnight parking should the Truck-stop at Waterbrook close – a matter which is by no means certain. This would give rise to a far more difficult problem that may eventually lead to the need to find locations for about 500 lorries (in excess of 1,000 has been mooted). I do not believe that our borough is best suited for such purposes. Particularly so, as such a lorry park would need substantial and costly on/off works as it could not be accommodated at an existing motorway junction. On balance, I favour the view recently published by the Channel Corridor Partnership that stated:
“the main need is for additional lorry parking facilities on the Channel
Corridor, preferably at or near to the major ports/Channel Tunnel.”
The report goes on to suggest that these lorry parks should be financed by the port of Dover, which seems a very sensible proposition that places no direct financial burden on the tax payers of Kent and reflects the causal nature of the problem.
Finally, I view with great unease the fact that the County Council is single-handedly seeking to remedy a situation that is in reality a national and pan-European problem and, as such, requires resolution at that level.
Paul Clokie
19th April 2008
