Striking pictures show the start of work that will eventually lead to the infilling of part of a docklands area to prepare for new EU border rules.

The Port of Dover is filling in Granville Docks, part of the Western Docks, to create more space for checks on vehicles for when new Entry/Exit System (EES) checks come in on November 10.

The idea is to provide space for this to be done on off-road land to prevent severe congestion and delays for port traffic as there are concerns there could cause 14 to 15-hour delays.

The photographs, taken on Monday, capture the scene from the Western Heights.

They show a dredger, Gateway, already in place with two small support vessels, the barge Steenbok and the multi-purpose craft Jif Worker.

The images come from Dover Strait Shipping, a local independent shipping and aviation news and photography organisation.

Nigel Scutt, from the group, observed the movement and said: “The Port of Dover received the first shipment of dredged material.

“The dredger Gateway, arrived. The Steenbok took up position and the delivery pipeline was already connected.

“Jif Worker then closed up on the Gateway, to enable the delivery pipeline to be connected to the dredger.”

In March, the Port of Dover confirmed it was creating space at an old boatyard to process coaches and keep them off the road while they are waiting.

The land created through the infilling of Granville Dock will be used to check cars.

The old boatyard is expected to be changed by October and the infilled Granville Dock area would be ready by next year.

The port has been helped by a £45 million government Levelling Up grant awarded last year to ease gridlock.

Another £3.5 million was announced by the Department for Transport last month.

The EES has been drawn up to register entry and exit data of non-EU nationals – which, following the Brexit vote, now includes the British – when they cross an external border of the continental bloc.

With this, manual passport stamps at Kent ports are to be replaced by biometric facial imaging and fingerprinting, which has to be done in the presence of an officer.

It is feared the time taken on tourists’ first entry to the EU could increase significantly under the new rules, sparking further queues in and around Dover.

Roads to the port are already regularly gridlocked at times of peak demand such as summer and Easter holiday getaways.

It can also happen because of stormy weather delaying the ferries, strikes in Calais or shortage of staff at border controls.

The direct road to the Eastern Docks, the A20 and A2 Jubilee Way, are the first to seize up but at worst the traffic seeps into arterial roads through the town, such as Folkestone Road, Maison Dieu Road and Barton Road.

KentOnline has contacted the Port of Dover for further comment and detail on the infilling.