Memorandum from Dover District Council
(FT 22)
It is noted that the Department of Transport's
stated objectives recognise the importance of facilitating the
continued development of a competitive and efficient freight sector
while reducing the impact of freight movement on congestion, safety
and the environment and other road users.
Much of the UK's trade is channelled through
Dover. Recent estimates from Dover Harbour Board place the combined
value of import and export freight passing through Dover to be
in the order of £55 thousand million per annum.
This level of activity translates to just under
some 2.5 million HGV's per annum, with daily flows of around 10,000
vehicles, now being recorded and which continues to grow. All
indications suggest that this level of traffic will exceed 4 million
vehicles over the next 20 years.
Clearly, this level of activity has a profound
impact in and around Dover as a consequence of the traffic using
both the strategic route corridors—the A20/M20 and A2/M2—to
and from the port, which also operate in a regional and local
context within the town. These problems range from congestion,
disruption to the local functioning of the town, environmental
impact (that has resulted in the declaration of an Air Quality
Management Area) and the attendant impacts from overnight parking,
all of which are hugely exacerbated on the occasions when the
need for "Operation Stack" arises.
Both the A20/M20 and A2/M2 route corridors have
been identified as part of the Trans-European Network. However,
the A20/M20 has been defined as the Highway Agency's preferred
strategic route.
This point was highlighted in the recent Panel
Report in response to the South East Plan where it was recognised
(Para 18.39) that "The Dover Area experiences serious transport
problems due largely to the increase in freight vehicles using
the port and the local topography. We were informed that a comprehensive
transportation study is in progress. The study will test the cumulative
impact of additional growth levels going beyond those in the draft
Plan and the freight impact as part of the LDF process".
The port has also been recognised as a "Gateway"
on the basis of and in recognition of the important role that
it fulfils in a regional and national context. It was also noted
(Para 9.28) and accepted that improvements are needed to the London-Dover
International Corridor, and that this would include the A2 and
rail access to the port.
This was also recognised by the Panel (at Para
18.83) when they indicated:
"We think it important for the Plan to identify
the main pieces of infrastructure that are critical to the delivery
of the sub-regional strategy. While most elements of infrastructure
are adequately covered in the regional policies or are appropriate
to the Implementation Plan, transport improvements are so vital
to support the spatial planning framework that a separate section
is justified . . . "
It was recommended (at Para 18.84) that, among
other schemes, the following key transport themes should be named
in the text to indicate the Sub-regional Transport Strategy to
support sustainable growth and regeneration in East Kent and Ashford:
RAIL
Frequent domestic services on the CTRL for Ashford
and the East Kent towns.
Ashford
— Improvements of junction 10 of M20
and additional junction 10A.
— Ashford to Thanet improved rail links.
— Ashford-Hastings rail capacity improvements.
— Enhancement of Ashford station and
a new south Ashford rail station
— Co-ordinated bus route planning with
new and existing development, new bus interchange and park and
ride facilities.
— Measures to support cycling and walking.
— A south Ashford orbital road linking
the A28 to the A2070 after 2016
Canterbury
— Improvement of A2 Canterbury bypass
junctions together with associated demand
management measures including park and ride.
Dover
— Improvements to A2 and A20 for port
traffic and lorry parking facilities.
Thanet
East Kent Access Phase 2
While it was acknowledged (at Para 18.85) that
most of the schemes above are related to housing and employment
development, it was also stated, "there are additional priorities
in this sub-region relating to its gateway function. Hence we
consider landside access issues to Dover port to be particularly
important. Several schemes are included in the SRIF table, and
the need for progress is made more urgent because freight traffic
is now running at levels previously forecast to be reached in
2014 and there are air quality concerns in the port's vicinity.
Of particular concern in the short-term is the extensive disruption
that accompanies Operation Stack. We hope that a satisfactory
management system and longer-term solution will emerge quickly
from the co-ordinated work currently being undertaken by the HA
and Kent CC. We also share the concerns of Dover Harbour Board
that lack of progress on road improvements around and through
Dover might inhibit redevelopment of the Western Docks.
It was further noted (at Para18.86):
" . . . while there are serious localised
problems associated with access to the port of Dover the rest
of the strategic road network currently shows little sign of `stress'.
However, the HA commented that, given their trans-European role,
in the longer term it may be necessary to consider forms of traffic
management on the A2/M2 and A20/M20 . . . "
Dover Harbour Board has recently announced plans
for the expansion of the Port of Dover that propose a second Terminal
at the Western Docks. The proposals are being developed through
a process of stakeholder consultation and are being aligned with
development proposals on the continent in recognition of the ever-expanding
market demands and are fully supported by the District Council
in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and the
County Council.
DHB's plans for a second terminal (T2) also
bring potential added value. Not only will they facilitate an
improvement to the many current traffic related problems in the
town centre, they should provide Dover with much needed stimulation
for regeneration.
The circumstances arise partly because the Terminal
2 plans have identified important areas of Dover waterfront as
being surplus to operational requirements and that these could
be released for alternative development to assist this regeneration.
However, while the market should be able to
deliver an attractive waterfront development, it must be recognised
that it will remain sub-optimal in terms of regeneration so long
as the barrier of the A20 main trunk road continues to divide
the town centre from the waterfront. The presence of this road,
which is an important part of the Trans-European Network, has
the effect of exacerbating the disparity between the economic
activities of the town centre and the waterfront.
Ideally the solution would be available from
removing the trunk road from the town centre and bypassing the
town. However, the constraints of the designation of outstanding
natural beauty of the surrounding countryside and the costs, which
would be involved, mean that solution is totally unviable.
Running in parallel with Dover Harbour Board's
proposals, the work on the earlier mentioned transportation study
is drawing to a conclusion. The Transportation Study, which is
a public/private sector partnership involving the District Council,
County Council, Regeneration Agencies, Dover Harbour Board, The
Highways Agency and key landowners has examined all the potential
growth options together with committed and anticipated development
proposals. Key findings emerging from this work indicate that:
— the District needs to maximise growth
to achieve critical mass;
— there is a compatibility of major
growth at Whitfield and the Port Growth;
— a diversion of A2 could be considered;
and
— transport and land-use strategy is
fundamentally linked.
In addition to this, it is also understood that
the County Council is progressing proposals for a solution to
"Operation Stack", which may lead to a scheme for a
lorry park being developed adjacent to the A20 at Sellindge. Again
the District Council welcomes such proposals but would be seeking
assurances that traffic using the A2/M2 route can be adequately
catered for.
CONCLUSIONS
The District Council asks that the Select Committee
take the following matters into account, which will assist with
the planning and delivery of infrastructure and the free movement
of goods:
— there are substantial acknowledged
difficulties arising within and around Dover as a consequence
of the ever-expanding trading patterns between the UK and the
continent which generate a pressing need to ensure the existing
infrastructure is improved and future proofed;
— without prejudice to the formal processes
that need to be followed, the District Council welcomes the proposals
by Dover Harbour Board for the development of Terminal 2;
— there is an acknowledged need for
improvements, as highlighted in the Panel Report on the South
East Plan, to the A2 (including the improvements in Canterbury)
and A20 routes which should be out in place to compliment and
support proposals by Dover Harbour Board and by the District Council
through the Local Development Framework;
— the District Council requires that
a solution to the problems arising from "Operation Stack"
and overnight lorry parking is taken forward as a matter of urgency;
— the District Council commends the
need to consider the A20/M20 and A2/M2 route corridors as a comprehensive
package of infrastructure rather than separate entities; and
— the Highways Agency should take forward
traffic management proposals to ensure that traffic using the
strategic route corridors is channelled along either the A20/M20
or A2/M2 corridor relative to the end destinations at either Terminal
1 (the Eastern Docks) or in due course Terminal 2 (the Western
Docks) thereby benefiting the users of the town centre and helping
to remove the severance of the town from the seafront, reduce
congestion and improve air quality and environmental conditions
generally.
October 2007
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