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Dover Harbour Board has released plans for a £300m expansion to Dover Port, following reports predicting major traffic increases over the next few years.

Commercial vehicle traffic alone is set to rise from 2.3 million in 2006 to over 3.2 million in 2014.

Bob Goldfield, Dover Harbour  Board chief executive, says: “We are currently running out of capacity on land and the water especially. There has been a significant increase in vehicles in every area, especially commercial vehicles. The port is at near full capacity in almost all areas.”

The plans have been welcomed by Mike Beer Transport managing director Mike Beer: “An expansion of the port is natural growth, and I’m all for it. It will be good for Dover as it will provide a lot of extra employment.

“More berths will mean more freight and more trucks, which brings up the issue of Operation Stack. If the port is to be extended successfully it needs the whole package.”

Though the new terminal will include parking for 270 trucks, Goldfield agrees that Stack is still an issue: “Once we finish terminal two, there will certainly be a different requirement regarding Operation Stack [because  of the increase in traffic]. But that is a separate issue and will certainly need to be addressed.”

If planning permission is granted, the build will commence in 2009 with possible completion in 2012/13. It will create 2,600 jobs and is set to bring regeneration to the Dover port area.