Government 'won't pay' for M20 lorry park
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by political editor Paul Francis
Plans to build a huge lorry park off the M20 to cope with
Operation Stack have been dealt a blow after the government said
it won't pay for it.
Kent County Council has been pushing for a lorry park to be
built on a 70-acre site off the M20 at Aldington as a solution to
the problem of HGVs being parked along the motorway when Operation
Stack is implemented.
But the authority has always insisted the costs - estimated at
£35m - should be met by the government rather than council
taxpayers.
Now the
government has signalled that it has no money available to do
so.
The news comes in a decision by ministers to reject a bid by the
county council to secure funding through the Sustainable
Communities Act.
It contains legislation enabling councils to promote
schemes that they consider would improve the economic or
environmental well-being of the area.
The bid for the lorry park, which could hold 3,000 HGVs, was
among 300 ideas submitted by councils to the government but has not
been given the green light.
In its formal response rejecting the bid, the government
said:
"In relation to the specific proposal to construct a lorry park
in Kent, it is understood that the costs are likely to greatly
exceed £35m due to the need for significant works to construct a
new junction off the motorway.
"The Highways Agency has no objection to the lorry park being
created, however government funding is not available for this
project."
Plans for the lorry park were recently included in a six-point
plan of major transport initiatives totalling £1.7bn that KCC said
was essential to keep the county moving.
Cllr Nick
Chard (Con), cabinet member for highways, said: "Clearly,this
announcement is not helpful. We really do want the green light from
government that it will fund it and then we can move forward."
However, local residents who have campaigned against the lorry
park said KCC should now abandon the idea.
Matt Baldwin, who lives near the site and is a member of the
campaign group Lorry Park Alliance, said: "I am surprised that KCC
is pursuing the lorry park when it has no money to fund it and is
resting all its hopes in a solution it cannot pay for and nobody
really wants.
"KCC should now look more seriously at other sites that have
been put forward. It should shelve this plan and look at other
options."
Wednesday, January 05 2011
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