Agenda item

The H&T Strategic Resilience Manager will be in attendance to answer questions from members of the committee.

The Chairman welcomed Toby Howe, H&T Strategic Resilience Manager Kent County Council, to the meeting to discuss the traffic problems that had affected the Port of Dover and the area around Dover itself.

Members were advised that Councillors N J Collor and M Bates had also been invited as the former and current Portfolio Holders for transport matters respectively.

The Chairman expressed concerns over the impact of traffic problems during the Christmas and summer that had caused misery for the people of Dover. It was pointed out that that these problems had been predictable and that the measures to deal with them were slow to be put in place and often inadequate. The example was cited of the Port of Dover being unable to handle the volume of traffic arriving which then blocked the motorway and local roads because measures were no applied quickly enough to tackle the problems.

Mr Howe acknowledged that the situation at Dover was fragile and advised that the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) was undertaking work in preparation for the introduction of further border checks. However, the route of the problem was a national issue and it would take a national solution to deal with it. The plans that the KRF had in place were responsive and did not have the resources to roll out these measures immediately when there was a problem. The KRF received information from the Port of Dover that it used to monitor traffic flows. It was accepted that there was a need for significant infrastructure improvements and that without these the third Thames crossing could make matters significantly worse.

Members were advised that the KRF lacked some of the enforcement powers it needed to deal with problems and punish foreign HGV drivers who tried to evade the plans to manage the traffic. It was suggested that expanded powers for the Port of Dover Police would also be useful in dealing with problems.

The following points were raised by Members:

·         That there seemed to be no quick response plans in place to deal with short notice issues such as strike action in France.

·         That introducing new immigration rules for the start of the Easter Holidays was an obvious mistake.

·         That without clear roads the local economy would struggle to keep operating.

·         That HGVs started diverting off the motorway before KRF could implement its plans or ignored the rules in place and tried to cut through Dover to access the Port rather than queue on the motorway. It was pointed out that it took hours to clear HGVs from places that they were not supposed to be in.

·         To express concern that these problems would continue to occur at predictable times of year when traffic volumes surged.

·         To warn of the problems that could occur when the new European Entry/Exit system was put in place in May 2023. There would be a requirement for biometric checks that could adversely impact on the time it took to process traffic through the Port.

·         To urge the KRF to explore solutions such as remote controlled barriers to control traffic flows and introducing HGV barriers in the town to prevent them trying to enter the Port through the town.

·         To highlight the suffering of the people of Aycliffe when HGV’s were queued on the road approaching the Port.

·         To advocate for a more agile KRF that could be proactive not reactive to find solutions to the problems facing Dover.  

·         The need to take into account the impact on local resident’s health as a result of the congestion.

·         That TAP can fill up in as little time as 30 minutes.

·         To emphasise the importance of the KRF and other agencies working with Dover District Council and local elected members when there were problems.

The Chairman thanked Mr Howes for attending the meeting and answering the Committee’s questions.