Shepway council has chosen Stanford West as the site it would prefer a new lorry park to counter Operation Stack to be sited.

The authority’s choice, to provide 3,600 lorry spaces near the M20, is out of the two options in a Highways England consultation.

It has picked the newly-earmarked land to the west of Stanford village and Stone Street instead of the other choice, Junction 11 North to the east.

Cllr David Monk, Shepway District Council leader, explained that Stanford West (classed as Option 1) would mean lorries would not end up on the nearby B2068, causing local traffic congestion.

He believes that Junction 11 North (Option 2) would cause that.

He told Kent Online: “It would be absolutely ludicrous to consider anything that takes traffic off the motorway and up the B2068 to a holding area.

“That would bring back the biggest problem for Shepway, the blocking of local roads. Junction 11 North would bring that problem.”

Shepway’s cabinet had voted this decision through at its meeting last night.

Cllr Monk said he expected that Stanford West was more expensive but Chancellor George Osborne had offered £250 million to find a solution. It had followed lobbying by Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins and 10 other Kent colleagues.

Cllr Monk said “This means we know there is the money to do it and it will cause the least inconvenience to residents.”

Shepway council’s foremost wish is to provide a lorry park of 1,300 spaces on a small strip of land west of the Junction 11 Stop 24 services between the motorway and high speed railway line.

The Stanford West option covers that land but also takes a huge chunk north of the motorway.

Shepway’s ideal is to provided the remaining 2,300 spaces elsewhere but at this stage it is simply choosing one of the options offered in the consultation by Highways England.

The final decision on this consultation rests with Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

Consultations for Options 1 and 2 got underway this week and Highways England does not need planning permission for either site from Shepway council.