Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce queuing by motor vehicles for Dover ferries in summer peak periods.

There are a number of measures currently in place to manage traffic on its approach to Dover port. These include a recently opened extended area within the port that can hold up to 300 lorries, along with the TAP (Traffic Assessment Project) traffic management system that allows port-bound lorries to be held outside the town on the A20 at traffic lights until space at the Port becomes available and to prevent queuing in central Dover during busy periods. The Government also has use of Manston airport as a contingency should the need arise.

A consultation regarding the building of a lorry park next to the M20 at Stanford West started on 12 August and will run until 23 September 2016. Up to £250 million has been committed to this scheme.

The lorry park at Stanford West, on the M20 close to junction 11, was selected as the preferred site last month following a separate consultation between December 2015 and January 2016.

This Government wants to have a country that works for everyone, and we are committed to keeping drivers in Kent moving.