Key points:
- Minister Keir Mather began a national tour of logistics sites at Ashford International Truckstop.
- The 660-space truck stop was named Best Truck Stop of the Year by Logistics UK.
- According to the site, it is consistently operating at full capacity.
- Operator GSE Group has proposed a 600-space lorry park off the A20 near Dover.
- Hundreds of residents oppose the plan, citing damage to the countryside and disruption to villages.
The minister at Ashford
According to KentOnline, Keir Mather, the minister for aviation, maritime and logistics, chose Ashford International Truckstop at Sevington as the first stop of a national tour. The site recently won Best Truck Stop of the Year at the Logistics UK awards.
“It was great to see how Ashford International Truckstop is setting the standard for driver welfare,” Mather said. He added that the government wants the freight sector to be “an attractive career choice for younger generations”.
The truck stop has 660 spaces and, according to its management, is consistently operating at full capacity. “We are delighted to be recognised as the benchmark for how all UK truck stops should operate,” said Darren Smith, operations director at the site.
A new lorry park near Dover
The site’s owner, GSE Group, wants to build another truck stop closer to the Port of Dover. According to the BBC, the plan is for a 70-acre site at the Court Wood Interchange near Capel, on the A20, the last junction before Dover. It would offer around 600 spaces, as well as a restaurant, shop, gym, showers and toilets, and create about 100 jobs.
GSE Group chairman Darrell Healey says that around 75% of all cross-Channel HGV traffic uses the M20 or A20. “If you build it, they will come,” he said, referring to demand for parking.
The Port of Dover supports the idea. “Our freight customers have told us that the proximity of parking to the port is crucial to their operations,” said Doug Bannister, the port’s chief executive, when the plan was first presented.
Residents say no
However, residents of nearby Hougham are strongly against the plan. They say the lorry park would bring light pollution 24 hours a day, damage the landscape and increase traffic on the A20. The site is around 400 metres from the village.
“The problem is already in our back garden, this will just move it into our front garden,” said local resident Steve Oxenham. Peter Robinson from Hougham Without Parish Council called the plan “atrocious” and said it would “destroy the local landscape”.
The final decision will be made by Dover District Council once a planning application is submitted.
What it means for drivers
For lorry drivers heading to Dover and the Channel Tunnel, the lack of parking is a daily problem. When parking sites are full, drivers often have to stop in lay-bys or industrial estates, without toilets or security.
The government has made driver welfare a priority, but projects like the one near Dover show how hard it is to build new parking. Trans.INFO has previously reported on why Ashford was named the UK’s best truck stop and on the UK’s largest truck stops.
