The Government has announced its support for the expression of interest put forward by Shepway District Council, for the development of a garden town at Otterpool, the area to the south of junction 11 of the M20 motorway. This development could include up to 12,000 new homes, with starter homes, homes to rent and larger accommodation for families. There will also be 85 hectares of land, close to the motorway junction, which will be available for business use. This gives us the opportunity to attract new major employers to the District.
Now that the government has signalled its support, Shepway can begin the work in earnest to design the plan for this scheme. The garden town would be delivered over thirty years, not overnight, and thirty percent of the land that is available for the development will be kept as green space. To make the most of this opportunity we need to make sure that we have the best possible design for the scheme, and that it is sympathetic to the different communities that will neighbour it. We will also need to plan for the upgrading of Westenhanger railway station, and improvements to the the local road network. There will also be a consultation on where new community facilities for sport and leisure could be located, as well as new provision for school places and local healthcare centres. This will be a major investment in our area over the next three decades, one that can transform the local economy and bring substantial improvements in our local infrastructure.
On Thursday last week I held my fourth annual jobs and apprenticeships fair at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. It was great to see so many local employers there, from Saga, and Dungeness power station, to NuSteel and the Creative Foundation. There were also organisations offering places that day on training and apprenticeship courses, in a wide range of sectors. East Kent College, which was also at the jobs fair, is one of the leading local providers for training for work in the construction industry. I was pleased to be able to discuss with people at the fair the large number of job opportunities that will be created from the development at Otterpool, as well as other schemes, like the regeneration of the Folkestone Seafront.
On Monday I hosted an event at the House of Commons to mark the publication of a new report commissioned by Eurotunnel, looking at the economic impact of the Channel Tunnel. The Tunnel carries £91.4 billion of UK trade, including 25% of our trade with the rest of the European Union. It is vital that we have the necessary support infrastructure in place to support the growing volumes of trade moving through the Tunnel; this includes the construction of the £250million lorry park to end the blight of Operation Stack, when freight vehicles are held back from completing their journey to the continent, because of delays. We also need to make sure that a priority is placed on supporting the movement of goods through the Tunnel and the Port of Dover, as part of negotiations to leave the EU.