Kent County Council (KCC) has been urged to abandon plans for a 70-acre lorry park to solve Operation Stack queues on the M20, in favour of shifting the current system to a longer stretch of motorway. Ashford Borough Council leader Paul Clokie suggests there is an alternative to the huge lorry park planned for Aldington, which he says will be a "concrete mess".
Instead, he says trucks should be stacked between junctions 8 and 9 of the
M20, which is a longer stretch than the current site between junctions 11 and 12. Clokie says: "It would make more sense to spend money extending the Quick Moveable Barrier (QMB), so it could be used to accommodate trucks on the 13-mile stretch between junctions 8 and 9."
When asked how facilities would be provided for the drivers, Clokie says portable toilets and mobile food outlets could be situated along the hard shoulder during the Operation Stack process. While admitting this would not solve the everyday parking issue for trucks in the county, Clokie suggests the existing truckstop at junction 10 should be given £2m to extend.
Peter Cullum, head of international affairs at the Road Haulage Association, says extending the QMB would not solve the problems closing part of the M20 causes for local residents, or create secure overnight parking for everyday use.
Geoff Dossetter, external affairs director at the Freight Transport Association, adds: "Kent needs adequate overnight parking, which KCC's current suggestion provides, as well as giving scope to get Operation Stack traffic off the M20."
KCC was not available for comment.
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