Kent Transport Summit hijacked

4.17.31pm GMT Tue 17th Nov 2009

What was billed as a Transport summit was hijacked today when Conservative MP Michael Howard MP declared that the Kent County Council (KCC) "big idea" of a Lorry Park at Sellinge would be built "over my dead body". Mr Howard also warned KCC Tory Leader Paul Carter not to expect a Conservative Government to levy a national charge on foreign lorries (the so called Brit Disc) to pay for the park - another of KCCs favoured schemes.

Michael Howard's outburst at the House of Lords summit put an end to any idea of forging an agreement amongst summit delegates on a solution to Operation Stack. Labour MP Damien Green reminded KCC that the Government would have funded an extended Quick Removable Barrier but KCC had insisted on pursuing a lorry park solution.

The Federation of Small Businesses, said Roger House, have forged ahead and laid a complaint with the European Commission against the failure of the French Government to use their Police to prevent the wildcat strikes which close Calais creating delay and loss of business for hauliers from all over Europe.

If they win their case. ... maybe that's problem solved. And all without a summit in sight.

Trust Dean, Leader of the Liberal Democrats at Kent County Council attended the summit. Trudy commented:

"KCC didn't do its homework. An agreed and practical solution is needed and only then should we go to government to lobby for money.

"There is no agreement on what is needed, and an occasion which was meant to pull everyone together broke up with nothing much achieved except the Conservatives having fallen out. The issues of Boris Island, Manston and the third Thames crossing, all flagged up in KCC press releases, barely got a mention, though their long term effect on people is likely to be greater than Operation Stack.

"The FSB seem to be the only people who are addressing the correct problem, which is to force the French Government to prevent wildcat strikes and blockades. They deserve all our support."

Representatives from road, rail and sea transport operations brought forward a wide variety of solutions, including using Manston Airport , a ring of lorry parks around London or simply extending the Quick Removable Barrier.

Chief Constable Mike Fuller said that the safest option was to get lorries off the road into parks to maintain access for emergency services, in particular to the tunnel; the cost of Policing Operation Stack to the Kent Police Force was £2 m per year…paid for by the Kent Taxpayer, and caused a diversion away from crime busting activity.

Eurotunnel pointed out that the lorry 'reservoirs' would need to be expensively managed to enable the vehicle flows to the reduced number of ferries and trains to be maintained. They also said CCTV would be needed against organised gangs which target the loads of parked lorries. The Road Hauliers Association suggested that unless the parking was free lorry drivers wouldn't use it anyway.

Trudy Dean said:

"Personally I do not believe that sterilising a huge acreage for use by 3,000 lorries for a few days a year is a sensible use of the countryside. In practice I cannot see government putting up £40 million to pay for it.

"The first action must be to get behind the FSB moves to get the French Government to enforce free flow of goods. That may be all that is needed, but it is likely to take some time.

"Secondly the Quick Removable Barrier which has never yet been used in an emergency, needs to be tested to see whether it works. Only if it does should the extension of QMB should be pursued; it is the only affordable solution available quickly.

"It is also the case that KCC's support for yet another crossing of the Thames, and the development of Manston Airport and the extension to Dover Docks will massively increase the vehicles on Kent roads every day, all day. What we should be doing is transferring as much of that traffic as possible onto rail at terminals either at the ports or outside Kent and alternative shipping ports, and reducing imports by producing and buying more British goods."