The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today announced a quarter of a billion pounds to deliver a long term solution to Operation Stack. This investment of £250 million will enable the construction of off road lorry parking facilities, accessed directly from the M20 which can be used whenever delays occur.
The announcement today follows a meeting earlier this month where I led a delegation of Kent MPs to see the Chancellor to underline the importance to the county of ending the blight caused by Operation Stack. Since the chaos caused by its routine implementation this summer, a large amount of work has been carried out by the Department for Transport, Highways England, Kent County Council and Shepway District Council looking at what the best long term solution could be.
The funding for these new facilities mean that we can keep the motorway traffic flowing in both directions even when Operation Stack is enforced. It will also remove the pressure on local roads, caused when restrictions on access to the motorway have been in place.
We can also use these new facilities to end once and for all lorries parking up around local roads and residential areas, endangering other traffic and disturbing local communities. They can now be made to use the new parking areas off of the motorway.
This decision is a major boost for the people of Kent and the economy, and should mean that once these facilities are completed, we will never again suffer from Operation Stack as we have in 2015.
The days of Stack are coming to an end.