New Kent lorry park could spell end of Operation Stack

The days of lorries being parked along motorways in south east England could be numbered, with the £250m lorry park to be built near the M20 in Kent.

Operation Stack - which sees lorries waiting to cross the English Channel parked along motorways during adverse weather or Channel Tunnel closures - was used by police 32 times last year.

The new site will have room to park 3,200 heavy goods vehicles in such emergencies, will be based on Folkestone.

“Operation Stack is only ever used as a last resort but we recognise the impact it has on roads in Kent, and are determined to deliver an alternative solution,” said Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

“The new lorry area by the M20 will deliver better journeys for drivers and will not only support the region’s economy but also businesses as far away as Scotland that rely on the M20 to access the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel.

“We have committed up to £250m for the lorry area and we are now making it a reality,” he said.

The site will be the second-largest HGV park in the world after one in Qatar, and will be accessed by a slip road off the eastbound carriageway of the M20, negating the need for lorries to trundle through local roads.

A public consultation on the plans received more than 1,300 submissions, with most supporting the creation of a lorry area and less than one quarter of respondents saying Operation Stack should continue as is.