Mick Tedder gives MPs in Dover, Folkestone, Ashford, Thanet, Canterbury and Maidstone answer above lorry delays for port-sure visitors

Just one person has written to neighborhood politicians featuring a strategy to avert long run lorry snarl-ups.

This is now notably feared through additional bureaucracy for hauliers next Brexit.

Mick Tedder’s letter has long gone to the MPs for Dover, Thanet, Folkestone, Canterbury, Ashford and Maidstone in addition the leaders of Dover District Council and Kent County Council and to Dover Town Council.

Mr Tedder, 71, of Buckland Avenue, Dover, was a senior forwarding clerk at the town’s freight forwarding corporation George Hammond Group from 1968 to 2011.

He has also been a neighborhood representative for the Port of Dover’s Port Group Discussion board for 6 many years.

Underneath is his in depth option.

The potential of Kent’s roadways article Brexit – January 2021.

In the pretty late hrs of December 31 we regained, so we are advised, our countrywide sovereignty.

This was one particular of the most important productive arguments why so quite a few recognized Brexit as the very best way forward for us as a country.

Whichever our unique opinions, the deed is done, and we now have to go forward and if you like start off to recreate ourselves as the global investing country it should be our collective ambition to become.

To do this we require to start on property soil by developing fashionable supporting infrastructures in street, rail and aviation sectors that will permit us to travel this ahead together with the supporting Govt agencies, Customs, DEFRA and Port Overall health that are all part of the same deal.

We have to concentrate initially on the EU for the reason that, like them or not, they will stay a person of our largest and most vital investing associates absolutely in the limited time period and no question properly into the upcoming.

A large share of EU trade, import and export, is managed by vehicles via the channel terminals at the Port of Dover and the nearby Eurotunnel outside the house Folkestone.

Allow us, for an unpleasant moment, return to those chaotic moments ahead of Xmas where some 8,000 vans were being parked up and who understands how quite a few others and private autos efficiently introduced the Port, town of Dover and numerous other streets in the space to a complete standstill for quite a few times as nicely as necessitating the activation of operations Stack, Brock and Fennel.

For us in East Kent of system it is not the first time this style of disruption has transpired.

These types of functions have been heading on for almost a 10 years now and through this time we have not had a one coherent prolonged-term strategy from Central Authorities to solve this situation once and for all but just a sequence of unrelated seemingly knee-jerk so-named initiatives.

With this in brain I would offer the next that I regard as a radical yet an EU/Macron long term-proofed resolution. The quantity of agricultural land in unique needed would be considerable but this is owing completely to steady neglect of this festering situation by Central Federal government.

It is obvious for Kent, in individual, we require a revolution in wondering and knowing of the concerns and difficulties these vans inflict on us domestically.

I would advise an quick urgent main evaluate of our Border infrastructure specifications as we simply cannot afford to pay for to have our Terminal back links to the EU held hostage once again.

Specified the over I would present the adhering to equation to solve this circumstance

Stack + Brock + Fennel = MITS x 2 which will require the subsequent to (re)address.

A) The construction of two Mega Worldwide Truck Stops (MITS) each and every able of keeping 10,000 vehicles.

B) Areas ~ the first on the coastbound M20 right before and with a direct non-motorway hyperlink into the Channel Tunnel and means to serve Dover Port by using the M20/A20.

The second on the A2 outdoors Dover, yet again on the coastbound facet just prior to the targeted visitors lights and the Lydden/Coldred interchange.

C) Each MITS would have capacity to undertake Customs import clearances and examinations and approach export documentation and comprise their very own Customs/DEFRA/Port Wellness facilities.

This would leave equally Terminals to operate much more or significantly less as they did prior to Brexit or with small import/export

bureaucratic intervention.

D) Each individual internet site would have the capability to produce Customs authorized bonded warehouses that could open up groupage and transhipment prospects.

E) Port of Dover/Tunnel/Ferry firms to jointly deal with on an operational basis the two internet sites as they would be dependable for contacting ahead vans when suitable for their terminals to obtain for vessels to load and nearby street

situations enable.

F) Each individual site, by means of a 3rd occasion, would provide a total assortment of services to deal with truckers demands and would be operate on a commercial foundation.

G) ALL continental certain freight vehicles/vans would have to report to one of the MITS for initial Customs test, ferry scheduling affirmation and, would only be introduced ahead, on distinct selected roads, when needed at possibly terminal. This need to take away the prospect of ‘hostage’ scenes witnessed before Christmas outside Dover Japanese Docks, hopefully further police involvement and perhaps even the end of Dover Faucet?

H) In time of ‘heavy traffic’ trucks would only be introduced forward when main direct entry roadways ~ A20/A2 ~ were being very clear and Terminal facilities have been obtainable to procedure for loading maintaining community roadways free.

I) ALL continental bound freight would by legislation when getting into Kent only be authorized on the M20/A20/M2/A2 or be in a MITS.

They have no reason to be everywhere else so in a one action ought to very clear our streets and lay-bys of undesirable juggernauts. This will get rid of the necessity for permits to enter the County.

J) Finance – The constructions of the two MITS to be compensated for by Central Federal government as originally it is in the nationwide, as effectively as neighborhood interest, they are produced and as immediately as attainable.

Ongoing routine maintenance and managing expenditures would be funded by a £2 levy, for each freight unit in every single path, gathered

by ferry providers with their freight prices and would contain say 6/8 several hours free of charge time in the MITS or longer if highway circumstances need.

K) Acquisition of land for the MITS would look to be straight forward presented the Governments current profitable use of Particular Enhancement Orders at Sevington outside the house Ashford and Guston near Dover.

Normal observations are as follows:

a) Surroundings, very rightly is a most vital factor, but some time there has to be a trade-off in between which is fascinating and is regarded as the lesser of two evils and this I consider is these types of a situation.

When both of those locations would include the loss of farmland and habitat they are away from centres of populace.

Web pages at the two Sevington and Guston as well as other folks staying proposed are very near to existing households who will be blighted with regular on heading noise and other pollution issues. Two these kinds of MITS will enable the closure or abandonment of scaled-down truck parks found advert hoc all in excess of the County and over and above, which will have to be a good thing.

b) With all freight destined for only two specified sites, need to we uncover ourselves in a problem as we endured about Xmas when the French halted arrivals from the Uk, demanding distinct Covid exams, then all vans will be in one of two places to be dealt with, which signifies both our streets and terminals will continue to be apparent and operational.

c) Manston took some 4,000 vans in the course of the recent French encouraged Covid drama but is, subject to organizing purposes, because of to be returned in the not-much too-distant long run to staying an energetic airport that will supply a important money strengthen to the Thanet location or even for housing.

Exactly where will these 4,000 vans now be accommodated the future time they can’t shift freely to France?

d) It is necessary for just about every MITS to have its very own Customs/DEFRA/Port Well being amenities.

This need to not be an challenge as Sevington and Guston, if finished will provide the great admin templates with MITS just currently being on a larger sized scale.

e) When compared to the Continent we seem to be to be effectively driving in wanting just after trucker’s welfare which is reflected by Ferries and Eurotunnel.

We count on these vehicles to carry a significant percentage of what we as a country will need to survive on and MITS would unquestionably give far better situations for all anxious.

I believe in you uncover the over at least informative and is dependent on my doing the job for an Company in the Port of Dover for around 40 yrs the place I have had involvement and practical experience in nearly each individual component of Port everyday living which includes Customs Clearance, as necessary even right before we joined what later grew to become the EU.

I would welcome any feedback you may possibly have, very good or undesirable, and regard this paper as a sensible foundation for dialogue as, we have to begin someplace and to day I have seen nothing equivalent.

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