The leader of Kent County Council has detailed plans to cope with up to 7,000 lorries delayed within the county should the UK be treated as a “third country” after leaving the EU on 31 December.
Roger Gough has written to cabinet to explain the county’s infrastructure and traffic management plan which includes the installation of a Quick Moveable Barrier on the M20, inland border facilities at Ebbsfleet and Sevington, and the circumstances in which Operation Brock will be triggered, which manages waiting HGVs (as detailed in picture).
HGVs heading to the ports will only legally be allowed to use specified routes to the ports and require a Kent Access Permit enforced by ANPR. Lorries carrying certain cargoes such as fish and live chicks will be allowed to jump the queue.
The briefing document acknowledges that the Government restrictions around Coronavirus are making planning more complicated. However it concludes by saying the County Council, along with local and national multi-agency partners, is “confident our preparations for parallel emergencies and incidents on, and after, 31 December 2020, are as robust as they can be against the current environment”.
You can read the full report here.
(Picture – Kent Resilience Forum)
