Welcome to Digital Kent

View Synopsis AMANDA FISHER reports.

These rolling fields south-east of Ashford could be the answer to Kent's ongoing traffic problems, if the County Council gets its way. The fifty hectare plot, wedged between the M20 and High-Speed Rail Link near Aldington, has been revealed as the proposed site for up to 3,000 heavy goods vehicles to stay temporarily when Operation Stack is in force.

At present, lorries heading for the Continent when cross-Channel services are blocked are made to park up on the coastbound carriageway of the M20, causing chaos for non-freight traffic travelling to East Kent. With the current Operation Stack - caused by industrial action on SeaFrance ferries and high winds in the Channel - entering its third week, Kent County Council has joined forces with Kent Police, the Highways Agency and the Freight Transport Association to come up with a permanent and environmentally sound solution.

At a press conference in Maidstone, Leader of Kent County Council, Paul Carter outlined their plans.

PAUL CARTER, Leader, Kent County Council: 'The rumour was out on the street yesterday that the site would be next to the electricity converter station on the London-bound carriageway of the M20 just to the south-east of Ashford. The topgraphy is such that the site sits in a dip, is well landscaped by mature trees and with a little additional landscaping, I'm hoping that there will not be one resident that will be able to see this site from their garden or window of their house. This is a solution which takes the lorries off-road, into a compound which will hold some 3,000 lorries.'

The proposed site may look like valuable farmland. In fact the fields have been created from earth spoil from construction of the High-Speed Rail Link. If approved, the lorry park could be up and running within two years.

PAUL CARTER: 'This is a two-year journey, hopefully, to get the planning process through to acquire the land and to present the bill most importantly to national government, some £30 million or £40 million is it being costed at. I've been in dialogue with Tom Harris the roads minister; suggested that he should introduce a vignette... scheme charging foreign lorries entering the port of Dover or through the channel tunnel into Folkestone some thirty or forty pounds landing fee which would create an income of some £35 million, £50 million a year to pay for highways infrastructure improvements predominately in Kent which takes the brunt of the international haulage industry being the gateway.'

An estimated 16,000 lorries travel through Kent each day. According to the Freight Transport Association the delays and disruption associated with Operation Stack are costing the UK economy £½ million a day. The Association welcomes proposals to build a secure lorry park with modern facilities for drivers to use while waiting to cross the Channel.

DON ARMOUR, Manager, Freight Transport Association: 'The motorway should be kept clear; it's one of our arterial trunk routes and they're there for a purpose and they're not there for parking lorries, so to get them off the motorway is brilliant. It would have all sorts of benefits; it's not just a park place, it's everything that goes with it... it's washing, parking, security... these are people we are talking about, it's not like they're on a picnic. They need somewhere to park, to wash, to sleep and Kent County Council will be supporting moving the whole project forward as a benefit not just for our industry but for the people who live in the vicinity and the people of Kent.'

For the past twenty years, Kent Police has been landed with the task of setting up Operation Stack whenever heavy goods vehicles heading to the ports and Channel Tunnel are prevented from completing their journeys. The work costs the force around £15,000 a day and takes up to ninety officers away from their normal duties.

ALLYN THOMAS, Assistant Chief Constable, Kent Police: 'We feel that the solution is the solution to a lot of problems. We think it will solve the problems of parking the lorries on the motorways and the disruption that it causes. In addition, it will save resources, it will save money for everyone and we can also use it to minimise the harm caused by the present informal lorry parking arrangements with the litter and associated problems, so it's a win-win.'