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Lorries looking for Ashford's Brexit lorry park cause chaos in Sevington

By: Alex Jee ajee@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 12:25, 27 January 2021

Updated: 19:06, 28 January 2021

Residents say they are "at breaking point" due to the chaos caused by confused truckers struggling to find a Brexit lorry park.

Angry residents in Sevington, near Ashford, say their village has been inundated by HGVs trying to find the 66-acre facility nearby.

Tensions are running high in Ashford as lorries keep blocking a residential street near the new lorry park

The enormous 'Inland Border Facility' next to Junction 10a of the M20 has been housing truckers since December, but several villages in the area have reported problems with drivers getting lost and causing chaos.

One resident said: "At least three or four of these massive lorries now have tried to get into Nightingale Close because they have been given the wrong post code.

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"One even jack knifed on the bend trying to turn around. They are all looking for the Covid test centre but there's no way through the village.

"People are getting fed up with the destruction of their gardens."

The situation appears to be identical to one suffered by residents in nearby Mersham, who were swamped with lorries after the government gave out an incorrect postcode for the Sevington site.

Residents fear the community is "at breaking point" from the disruption

Resident Elizabeth Baird said: "This is the second time in two weeks that I have had a lorry who is following sat nav directions given by our government has come into our village which is a dead end with narrow roads, lots of parked cars and a play park which feeds onto the road.

"By the time they get to the corner of Church Road and Kingfisher Close they can’t reverse and have to turn the tight corner looking for somewhere to turn around.

"As the corner is tight they end up on the pavement and ultimately on my front garden; on this occasion they missed my car which was parked on my drive by inches."

And many in the community are worried about the future, with the park not fully open yet, and development starting on on a massive warehouse linked with Amazon just down the road in Waterbrook park.

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Construction work on the GSE Group-led project is anticipated to begin in April, with completion expected in February 2022.

"Our small quiet community is at breaking point"

Although bosses are yet to reveal the name of the operator, Amazon has been rumoured and has long been linked with Ashford after a leaked ABC document in 2014 seemed to confirm it was coming to the town.

Mrs Baird said: "Our small quiet community is at breaking point with two new HGV facilities and now an Amazon warehouse being housed close by.

"We have had years of disruption during construction with road delays, dust, road closures and now light pollution with more to come .

"I don’t think it is too much to ask that the powers that be give the truckers proper directions to keep them out of our small community."

A KCC spokesman said: "KCC has placed traffic marshals at key locations to physically stop HGVs heading down the wrong roads and, in addition, more signing to the site is in place."

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