Border delays caused by Brexit could see Kent’s road network used as a lorry park for as many as 10,000 HGVs on a routine basis and hauliers facing regular delays of up to 12 hours, a report has warned.

And under a worst-case ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario set out by the government, there could be six months of disruption across the county’s road network.

Even if arrangements are made under a deal agreed with the EU, there could be weeks of disruption.

The report, due to be discussed by county councillors this week, describes the impact of changes to customs checks as potentially far-reaching:“It has been suggested that Kent may need to accommodate delays of around 12 hours on the key routes to the UK border and the current best estimate is that Kent will need to cope with holding up to 10,000 HGVs on a routine basis.”

It says that the government’s assessment of a no deal outcome has shifted.

It reads: “Since August, the planning scenarios being considered by government include a worse-case scenario of six months of disruption, although this is considered extreme due to the high degree of uncertainty around the likely border arrangements.”

And even with a deal, the impact of Brexit-related delays could leave the authorities needing to plan for “six weeks of significant traffic congestion across Kent, which would include four weeks of significant traffic disruption, followed by two weeks of recovery of the roads to normal.”

The report, titled ‘Update on Preparedness to Respond to Brexit’ underlines long-standing concerns that whatever Brexit deal is reached, the county will have significant challenges across a range of services: “It is clear, however, that any deal would entail some degree of disruption to border arrangements with associated traffic congestion. Any change in operation would be expected to lead to some teething problems, at least in the short term.”

On the wider repercussions, the report says: “It is also vital to recognise the indirect impact the traffic congestion and other implications of changes to the border could have on KCC’s other services... for example, disrupted school transport, delayed waste movement, delays to highway maintenance, staff attending work.”

Under the government's contingency arrangements, known as Operation Brock, will involve the introduction of a contraflow along a stretch of the M20 between Ashford and Maidstone.

The London-bound carriageway would be kept open for traffic in two directions with the coastbound carriageway used to park HGVs.

Once capacity on the M20 is used up, HGVs would be diverted towards the former Manston airport site and possibly the M26.

The KM Group revealed earlier this year the introduction of a contraflow on the M20 could take as long as two weeks to implement.

The likelihood of delays and congestion could be further complicated by an increased demand for KCC’s trading standards, which has already seen an increase in referrals to inspect third country goods although these are not all Brexit-related.

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