THE Kent County Showground at Detling, near Maidstone, could be used as a giant temporary lorry park, raising fears of increased congestion around the town.

The Highways Agency is in talks with agencies including Kent Police and Kent County Council over the future of Operation Stack – which is implemented on the M20 during delays at the Channel ports – and has suggested parking lorries on pieces of land like the showground at Detling rather than on the motorway itself.

At Easter, a contraflow system taking coastbound traffic onto the London-bound carriageway of the motorway between Maidstone and Ashford was tried but that did not prove popular with drivers.

The Highways Agency area team leader for the south east, Peter Rix, raised the idea of using nearby land as lorry parks during a briefing in Maidstone on Wednesday.

He said: “The contraflow didn’t prove as popular as we thought it might be. We are looking at various other options, one of which is using a mobile concrete barrier to block lanes which would be quicker than putting out cones.

“We are working with others to look at land opportunities so we could take the lorries off the road network.

“Perhaps land that is normally used for other things but not all year. For example the Kent County Showground could be used. It is a big issue that needs to be looked at.”

The showground’s acting general manager, David Goff said: “We have not been approached yet but if we were, we would be prepared to talk about the idea.

“However the showground is not just about the county show itself, we run a number of events throughout the year so it might be difficult to accommodate lots of lorries at short notice.

“If it were a planned thing it might be easier but as I understand it Operation Stack can go on at anytime.

“Getting to and from the ground via Detling Hill could also cause problems as the vehicles would have to go via the Stockbury roundabout to get out again and of course a lot of our car parking is on grass so in bad weather the lorries could well get stuck.”

Chairman of Detling parish council Geoff Cosgrove said: “Obviously we would have to discuss it but I would say we would be aghast at the idea.

“We already have congestion on Detling Hill and I think we would object to it on traffic, pollution and environmental grounds.

“If they put the two new roundabouts in it might be viable but I think people would have grave concerns about lorries coming into Detling on that scale.

“I would also say that the showground itself is unsuitable because much of it is grass and there are few facilities such as toilets.”

A number of studies are due to be carried out before any decision about the future of Operation Stack is made.