A permanent solution to Operation Stack is still not in sight, two years after the summer chaos on the roads of Kent. So is a huge lorry holding area the answer?
Drivers hoping for the benefits and relative safety of a holding area in the Kent countryside to replace the chaos caused by Operation Stack will be disappointed after it was revealed it could not be used as a permanent lorry park.
It means that the government could be forced to consider whether spending a quarter of a billion pounds on a Disneyland-size paved area at Stanford West, which might be used only a couple of times a year, is justified.
A source close to the project says Highways England has been informed by its legal advisers that using the site as a secure overnight lorry park when Operation Stack is not in place would not get the go-ahead.
The emergency parking procedure has not been used since the summer of 2015 and it is thought that appetite for a vast holding area may be starting to wane. According to the source: “The Department for Transport and Highways England have definitely become aware since this started that there are certain issues with the proposed solution, such as noise and whether or not it can be used 24/7 as an overnight park – which it can’t. They have admitted that.
No business advantage
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