Tory MP warns 'no-deal' Brexit contingency plan would turn Kent into 'parking lot of England'
Tom Tugendhat says a proposal to use the M26 as a "lorry park" under a "no-deal" Brexit is "not a workable solution".
Thursday 25 October 2018 19:50, UK
A top Conservative MP has warned the government against turning Kent into the "parking lot of England" in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit.
Tom Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge and Malling, said a proposal to use the M26 as a "lorry park" would "fundamentally change the lives" of those who live and work in the county.
Highways England said that as part of "wider resilience planning", the Department for Transport had asked it to "develop plans to utilise the M26 to hold heavy goods vehicles, should further capacity be required in the future".
There were overnight closures earlier this month, with further overnight closures from 19 November to 21 December to carry out the work.
It is part of contingency planning to handle any delays at Dover for cross-Channel traffic in the event Britain leaves the EU with no deal in March.
This provoked a furious reaction from Mr Tugendhat at the time, who said he was not told about the plans in advance.
Raising the matter in the Commons again on Thursday, Mr Tugendhat said that while he understood the need for Brexit contingencies, the M26 plan was "not a workable solution".
He hit out at the Department for Transport and Highways England for not asking for the thoughts of residents and businesses, although Mr Tugendhat welcomed meetings with ministers on the matter.
As well as plans for the M26, Operation Brock will see traffic able to park on the nearby M20.
Sections of that motorway currently close when Operation Stack is enacted. This sees lorries forced to queue because of disruption to rail or ferry services, with this causing delays on local roads.
Mr Tugendhat said stopping HGVs from entering Kent in the first place would be a "simpler solution", adding: "Why should it be the responsibility of the Garden of England to become the parking lot of England?
"Most HGVs don't start their journeys in our county so why not keep them at source as they do in France?"
Responding, transport minister Jesse Norman said he appreciated the issue was of "great concern", but stressed the government did not expect to use the contingency measures.
He said: "This new approach, Operation Brock, has been designed to ensure that unlike the previous one the M20 will be kept open and traffic will continue to flow in both directions at times of cross channel disruption.
"Operation Brock consists of three phases involving in the first place a contraflow queuing system on the M20, holding areas at Manston Airport and if necessary also on the M26.
"This represents a very significant improvement on deployments of Operation Stack, when junctions were closed and traffic was diverted off the M20 onto local roads."
Mr Norman added: "We doubt these contingency measures will be needed, but if they are, then we are doing the necessary planning.
"If we did have significant disruption at the border resulting in traffic disruption in Kent then let us be clear there is no panacea, there is no cure, but we want to ensure we can manage disruption while keeping Kent moving."