More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Residents are being urged to have their say as a two week consultation on the government's proposals for inland border facilities at Ebbsfleet ends today.
The former coronavirus testing centre was closed last month to make way for a Brexit lorry park .
A 24-hour site at Ebbsfleet International Station to process customs checks on vehicles in the event of a "no deal" is expected to last for two years from January 1.
HMRC – which deals with custom checks – and the Department for Transport unveiled the proposals for car park D as part of a consultation with residents and interested organisations which ends today.
Once operational it is expected to hold up to 256 HGVs with lorry movement limited to a maximum of 99 per hour between the hours of 11pm and 7am.
After entering the site, HGVs will visit a check point before being directed to a vacant space where drivers and their cargo will undertake customs and transit checks as required.
Checks will include paperwork inspection, as well as inspection of goods and some consignments which fall under a specific treaty protecting endangered plants and animals.
In September 2019, HMRC secured temporary approval for the site but this has since expired and so it has reapplied to the government for a Special Development Order (SDO).
This means that it does not have to submit a formal planning application for approval to Dartford council or other interested parties such as the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation.
The government body says the inland border facilities are intended to be temporary and are "designed to ensure no significant or long-term environmental effects".
It is a short drive from the A2 trunk road, a major access route into and out of the ports operating from the Dover Straits, including the Eurotunnel.
Dartford council's main opposition leader Sacha Gosine (Lab) spoke out against the plans last month which he said could lead to "mayhem" on the roads , adding to a host of existing traffic issues.
However, the authority's leader Jeremy Kite (Con) previously said he "sympathised" with HMRC who he felt would face criticism if they did not plan for a worst case scenario, but he too sought assurances from bosses, adding it was "extremely important for local people".
The Dover-Calais crossing is used by about 10,000 lorries a day and other customs sites have already been chosen.
These include a £45million lorry park on a 27-acre site off Junction 10a of the M20 in Sevington, Ashford to hold up to 2,000 trucks. The consultation for the Ashford sites end on Monday.
As part of the forthcoming submission of the site proposals, HMRC are preparing a stakeholder engagement report that will record the views of individuals and organisations that provide feedback.
To submit views on the Ebbsfleet proposals click here or to find out more information about the site visit here .
