Public meetings over lorry parks

Queuing lorries park on the M20 under Operation Stack

Public meetings are being held near the sites of three lorry parks planned by Kent County Council (KCC).

KCC transport spokesman, Councillor Keith Ferrin, revealed this week that lorry parks were planned for the M20, A2/M2 and M25 corridors.

Freight traffic currently parks on the M20 during Operation Stack when cross-Channel transport is blocked.

Ashford councillor Peter Wood said he represented the villages most affected, where "feelings were running high".

He said: "Residents are asking me 'what can we do?' Some residents have already begun writing to Kent County Council expressing their concern and dismay.

"We hope to encourage more and more residents to air their concerns."

'Greenfield site'

The first two meetings were being held on Saturday in Sellindge and Aldington. A third meeting will be held on 12 April in Mersham.

On Wednesday, Mr Ferrin said the council had already indicated the site on the M20 corridor should be at Sellindge.

He added that the site on the A2/M2 corridor had been "identified but not yet formally announced", but he said an official announcement would be made in six weeks' time.

He said: "We are looking for a third site which is along the M25 corridor, because of course we have to take on board the issue of vehicles coming back to Kent or going off around the rest of the country."

When asked if the two extra sites were brownfield or greenfield sites, he said the M25 site had not been identified, and the site on the A2/M2 corridor was "in fact a greenfield site".