Kent customs site to be used as lorry park despite government denial

The Department for Transport purchased a site in Kent that it will use as a Brexit border facility and confirmed it will also be used as a lorry park days after minister Michael Gove denied the claims.

After news of the plan for the site came out on Friday and infuriated local Tory MP Damian Green for not having a consultation with his constituents first, Gove said that a giant holding pen for lorries was not the intention of the facility.

Green also demanded to know the “environmental impact assessment” carried out by the government.

“So many new houses are being built in that area and it will mean people are buying homes in good faith not knowing this was planned.”

Locals also expressed their anger over the potential air and noise pollution and the overall increase in traffic.

The site needs to accommodate checks for up to 11,000 lorries going through from Dover rand the Eurotunnel each day.

Rachel Maclean, MP and parliamentary undersecretary of state for transport apologised to local residents in Ashford for not communicating the news sooner: “We sincerely apologise that information on this matter made its way into the press before we were able to communicate with you directly.

"We have not been able to inform you of our interest in the site before now for reasons of commercial confidentiality.”

Maclean added: “We can now confirm that the Department for Transport (DfT) has purchased the site and intends to make use of it in the context of our planning for the end of the EU transition period.

“Our use of the site will require further planning consent, which the government intends to pursue by means of a SDO process.".

The customs clearance site is needed from 1 January next year.