Councillors will tonight discuss whether to have a congestion charge for lorries using the Port of Dover.

Cllr Nathaniel Richards wants this to tackle pollution and traffic delays from HGVs.

He will put it as a question to Cllr Nigel Collor, portfolio holder for access and licensing, at the full Dover District Council meeting.

The question from Cllr Richards will say: “With increasing traffic on the Port of Dover starting to impact the air quality and roads surrounding Dover, would the portfolio holder for access and licensing be willing to consider working with relevant partners to introduce a congestion charge for all HGVs using the port, in order to use the levy collected to combat these issues?”

Lorries build up in Dover during times of delays, such as bad weather and strikes in France.

Last Thursday there was long queue along the A20 from Townwall Street because of a nine-hour blockade by French fishermen at Calais.

Traffic clog-ups reached the town centre, for example at Woolcomber Street and Maison Dieu Road.

Countless lorries also had to be left parked inside Dover Eastern Docks.

The local Green Party put out details of a study of air quality in Dover last December.

It stressed that the number of freight vehicles whose drivers keep their engines running while stationary added significantly to air pollution in the town.

Cllr Richards' proposal has already been condemned by the Freight Transport Association.

It says many lorry drivers had no choice but to use Dover and their vehicles are now cleaner.

Christopher Snelling, head of UK policy, said: “The Port of Dover is the UK’s closest connection to continental Europe and provides a vital trading link, not just for the south east of England, but for the UK as a whole.

“HGVs do not have an alternative route to use, so such a proposed charge is simply a tax on business and would ultimately hurt British trading relationships, as well as pushing up prices for goods and services.

“HGV operators have already made huge strides in reducing emissions, with the latest generation of trucks 90% cleaner than those sold just five years ago.

“These innovations are beginning to have an impact on air quality and it is wrong to place the blame for pollution levels solely at the feet (or wheels) of freight vehicles. “

The full Dover District Council meeting from 6pm today at the authority's debating chamber at White Cliffs Business Park in Whitfield.