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News

Dover TAP and queuing lorries keep Aycliffe residents up at night

By: Sam Lennon slennon@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 14 April 2022

Updated: 14:16, 16 April 2022

It's like the soundtrack to a horror movie.

There is a constant loud drone as frustrated lorry drivers blast their horns together as they are kept waiting by Dover TAP.

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The traffic control system starts right next to Dover's Aycliffe estate and the residents there have to put up with the din of hooters day and night.

Locals are now preparing to hold a demonstration at the weekend.

Resident Kerry-Anne Jones lives at Old Folkestone Road, which runs parallel to the section of the A20 where the juggernauts are queued.

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She provided KentOnline with a recording of the noise, which she took just before 6.30pm last Wednesday.

She said: "One of the drivers starts and the others join in and it is day and night.

The closeness of Dover TAP to the houses at Aycliffe. Picture: Sam Lennon KMG

"It disturbs my sleep and other people's. Last night I was woken up at 4am."

The latest misery for families here has gone on since Friday, April 1, with Dover TAP (Traffic Assessment Project) in place almost every day since then.

This month there have been delays in Channel crossings because of bad weather on top of a shortages of ships since P&O Ferries suspended its service after its mass sackings last month.

The strain was added to with a huge demand for travel during the Easter holiday period.

Further delays were caused by a post-Brexit customs computer system crashing.

The Dover TAP queue with the Aycliffe estate is on the left Picture: Sam Lennon KMG

Dover TAP, first introduced in April 2015, aims to stop traffic swamping the centre of Dover.

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Yet neighbours at Aycliffe have to put up with it each time the system is implemented – on other occasions because of severe weather or strikes in France.

Wendy Hayden also lives on Old Folkestone Road, the main route through Aycliffe, and her house is only a few yards from the queue.

The only barrier is a slender concrete fence.

She said: "It is horrendous. You can't sleep, you get woken up all hours of the night.

Resident Wendy Hayden with TAP lorries behind a barrier fence. Picture: Sam Lennon

"My little girl is only three and she says she's scared by it.

"I feel sorry for the drivers stuck there but they shouldn't make such a noise.

"People have jobs to wake up for and children to look after.

"They need to move Dover TAP further along the road where there is no estate next to it."

Ray Williams, chairman of Aycliffe Resident's Forum, said: "You don't get a full night's sleep and drivers' waste ends up in people's gardens.

Ray Williams, chairman of Aycliffe Residents' Forum. Library image

"But I also think the drivers are being deprived of their human rights because no toilets or drinking facilities are provided for them."

Dover was worst affected on the weekend of April 2 and 3 when the overspill of traffic choked up arterial routes in the town on top of the A2 and A20.

Aycliffe has only two roads into the estate, South Military Road and the A20 itself. The estate was cut off, residents explain.

Karu Krishna, boss of the Aycliffe Mini Market in Old Folkestone Road, said: "On that Saturday I drove back from suppliers in Folkestone and it should have taken 15 minutes.

"Yet it took two hours by having to go through heavy traffic through the Alkham Valley and River."

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Karu Krishna, of Aycliffe Mini Market

Residents say they have experienced these problems every time TAP has been used with the added issue of pollution from engines ticking over and bags of rubbish left on the roadside.

It was used 12 times in 18 days in January because of post-Brexit customs checks, roadworks and ferries away for refit.

Aycliffe is Dover's smallest community with just 525 residents,

It has a history of trouble with the A20 ever since it was built in the early 1990s.

Apart from the noise and disruption from road realignments during construction, chalk dust from the work coated cars and houses.

The Dover TAP queue snakes along the A20 at Dover, pho0tgraphed from Aycliffe towards, Capel-le-Ferne. Picture: Sam Lennon KMG

In summer 1991 the then Dover MP David Shaw visited the estate to learn about the problems and a resident told him: "We want our lives back, we want our sanity back."

Nicky Potts, head of operational integration for National Highways in the South East said: “We appreciate the concerns that local residents have over noise and have looked at this design on a number of occasions.

"Safety is our number one priority and Dover A20 TAP starts at the traffic lights by the roundabout to ensure that lorries slowing down can do so with plenty of time to stop.

“If this was to move 200 yards further west there would be lorries trying to stop at the bottom of a very steep hill. There is currently no street lighting further back and it would also encroach into the high risk fog area of the A20.

"The infrastructure at the roundabout also allows the control of the traffic lights to let lorries through when capacity allows.

Dover TAP queue along the A20 at Dover, photographed from Aycliffe towards the port. Picture: Sam Lennon KMG

"Also authorities on the ground can have a good view of freight moving towards the Port, and to turn around any vehicles trying to jump the queue.

"Relocating the lights would prevent this from happening, potentially causing more hooting of horns.”

Mr Williams disagrees. The start of the queue could be moved back using concrete bollards and traffic lights, he says.

He believes drivers who push in can be taken to the Aycliffe/Western Heights roundabout under police control and turned around there.

Residents will hold a demonstration with banners at noon this Saturday at the footbridge at the western end of Old Folkestone Road.

Earlier this month, Baroness Vere, the roads minister, agreed to review Dover TAP.

It came after MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke, Kent County Council leader Cllr Roger Gough and Dover District Council leader Cllr Trevor Bartlett held an emergency meeting with Baroness Vere, to discuss the problems on the Kent and Dover roads.

At the meeting on Monday, the trio made it clear Kent's roads were being put into emergency measures too often.

The Roads Minister committed to review Dover TAP and the Kent-wide traffic response following weeks of traffic chaos.

Mrs Elphicke said: "It is welcome that the Minister has agreed to review the operational performance of these emergency measures given their severe impact on local residents.

“This was an important urgent meeting with the Roads Minister about keeping Dover clear and the importance of investment for our local roads.”

Cllr Bartlett added: "Once again residents of Dover were unable to get out of their homes to get to medical appointments or to work. Local shops also lost trade.

“That’s a disgrace. The Port is an important part of our area but is not the only business in it. We need to see greater priority given to our residents and our community as a whole.”

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