The wheels are in motion to provide users of Dover Priory station with a multi-storey car park, three years after plans were put forward.

In February, the Mercury exclusively revealed that Network Rail (NR) had dropped its plans for a 500-space car park, reducing it to 230.

It has since been confirmed that Network Rail has scrapped plans altogether, and that Dover District Council has taken over the project with Essex-based developers, Churchgate.

An application was put in to Dover District Council (DDC) by Dover Demolition this week, to knock down the building in the goods yard in St John's Road, where the car park will be built.

A spokesman for NR said that the “advanced” proposals made it clear that the company “definitely couldn’t afford it.”

It came after MP Charlie Elphicke accused NR of “dithering” with plans back in March.

An application is set to be submitted with plans for the car park, which have been outlined in the district council’s Land Allocations Local Plan (LALP), adopted in January.

It says: “Car parking at the railway station is extremely restricted which means that the station is not fully capitalising on the benefits of the HS1 (high speed) train service.

“People wishing to park and use the HS1 service are placing additional pressure on the nearby residential roads.

“Some commuters are driving to railway stations that are served by HS1 outside of the district that have larger car parking facilities.

“In order to address this important issue, land immediately to the west of the railway station has been identified as a potential location for a car park to serve HS1 and the town centre.”

Mr Elphicke told the Mercury: “We’re looking at a car park that can be added to.

“To start with it will be 230 spaces, then more can hopefully be added.

“At this stage I can’t say how quickly it will progress but I’ve met with the rail minister and made the case for faster progress because I am deeply concerned about this.”

*In this week’s Mercury the story said Network Rail had submitted the application. This was incorrect.
It is thought that Churchgate will submit a planning application, subject to approval by planning officers at DDC.