WhiteCliffs Business Park, Whitfield proposed site for 1 of 4 HMRC lorry parks in East Kent

On 24 July, news of Conservative Central Govt plans to impose 4 huge clearance lorry parks on East Kent was leaked to the public. One of the sites, which plans to cater for 1200 HGVs, is WhiteCliffs Business Park, Whitfield. Another is Manston airport, to cater for 5800 vehicles. Both will have a huge impact on the lives of residents in Dover, Deal, Sandwich and the whole district, as will the 2 parks planned for Ashford to take 2000 and 950 lorries.

Sarah Gleave, spokesperson for Dover + Deal Green Party said, “All residents of Dover district, all East Kent communities, have had this possibility hanging over our heads for 4 years. The Conservative elite in London assured us a ‘frictionless’ border option would be found, but no, nothing.

This will be a journey into the unknown with a lot of British red tape and traffic chaos, mitigated perhaps if this Conservative central govt pull some last-minute competence out of the bag and successfully negotiate a good UK / EU27 trade deal at the last moment. Although this new border process may bring new clearance agent jobs; a wall of freight down the A256 could well be the kiss-of-death for some SMEs /tourism businesses causing job losses. Clearly it will mean the loss of more countryside, farmland and biodiversity as tarmac is rolled out. Together we Dovorians need to demand answers to many questions. ”

How much delay due to lorry chaos will ambulances from Deal + Dover experience getting to WHarvey Hospital, next door to one of 4 proposed lorry parks?
What arrangements have been made for honest, thorough assessments of the Whitfield 1200 lorry site in terms of local traffic / environmental impact / air pollution ?
DDC plans for a rapid transit bus from Whitfield – over a new flyover by Archers Roundabout + new link road from B+Q roundabout to Guston, Dover Road, then down to town and Dover Priory station(consultation ends this week): Was this planned because DDC knew the Whitfield lorry park was coming ?
How long have Dover’s 19 Conservative DDC cllrs (5 of whom are also KCC councillors) known about the plans for Whitecliffs Business Park to be the site for a 1200 lorry park?
What steps have they taken to force central govt to try harder to get us the UK /EU27 trade deal and ‘frictionless’ border they’ve been promising? What steps has Dover’s MP taken to push Johnson to go for the frictionless border her husband promised?
The Department of Transport has approved a Development Consent Order (DCO) for a new cargo airport at Manston last month. Will the same site also fit 5800 HGV trucks ? Is this another govt mess? Are Manston’s new American owners, RSP, lined up for an expensive buy-out with public money?
How will Dover’s 70% rural economy be affected ? Will light industry recently set up here, move elsewhere?
How will residents of Dover town feel with queues of lorries all around them, on A20 + A2 + A256 ?
What will be the effects on the carbon footprint and pollution generally, if HGVs are spending 3 or 4 times as long crawling around East Kent ? The impacts of climate change are the greatest threat to this generation.

How will the lorry parks and problems affect food production, distribution and food prices in East Kent ?

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