Logistics troubled by lack of Operation Stack solution

The FTA has reacted with disappointment to the latest government announcement linked to Operation Stack.

The government has withdrawn its application for a parking area in Kent, to house lorries waiting for transport in Kent.

Commenting on the issue, FTA’s Head of National and Regional Policy Christopher Snelling said: “whatever the solution, everyone from the hauliers who keep Britain’s supply chain working to the residents of Kent all agree that a better solution for Operation Stack is needed. That this application has to be withdrawn is a major disappointment and means a proper management of a Stack situation may be many more years off”.

“DfT have said they will now look to implement an interim solution for use before any lorry area can be brought into existence. FTA will want to see that this delivers real benefits in terms of safely and hygienically accommodating lorries and their drivers who get caught in up in Stack, keeping the roads safe for other users, and avoiding the need to restrict or close the motorway for non-Cross Chanel traffic.”

“As always with Stack, the best solution would be not to need it. But with Brexit on the horizon and all the other issues that can occur on the Dover-Calais route, we simply won’t be able to guarantee that – if the solution doesn’t work this could be an increasing problem for Kent in the years to come.”

Chris Grayling MP stated: “The impact of disruption at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel in Kent can lead to significant congestion in that county and further afield. In the event of such disruption, Operation Stack is deployed which queues lorries on the M20 until they can access their ferry or train, closing parts of the motorway to other traffic. However, it has been accepted that this is not an ideal contingency solution particularly given the impact it has on the M20, the surrounding roads, and in particular on people and businesses in Kent.”

The plan was to develop a lorry holding park in Stanford West, to mitigate the worst impact of Operation Stack. However, following judicial review, into the environmental impact of the lorry park, the government has withdrawn its application.

The government will continue to develop plans to create a new park, reassessing the scope, scale and location of the solutions, alongside tasking Highways England to find an interim solution.

Highways England have developed a number of options that, while continuing to hold HGVs on the M20, would allow non-port traffic to continue to travel in both directions reducing the levels of traffic disruption seen in Operation Stack; such as holding HGVs in the centre of the motorway rather than on the coastbound carriageway and different technologies ranging from steel barriers to moveable barrier systems could be deployed to deliver these solutions. A final decision on which option to take forward will be made in early 2018, with a view to completing delivery by March 2019.

Images: Offcaania / Shutterstock.com

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