Six events, in Folkestone, Ashford, Dover, Sellindge and Hawkinge, will give people the opportunity to find out more about the proposals and put their questions directly to members of the project team.

Proposals for a major new lorry area that would help improve Kent’s resilience when services across the English Channel are disrupted were announced on Friday 11 December 2015. A consultation seeking public views continues until midnight on Monday 25 January.

Two potential sites near the M20 have been identified for the lorry area, along with four broad ways it could be used. Each option could help to prevent the need for the M20 to be closed when there is disruption to cross-channel services.

Highways England Asset Manager for Kent, Kevin Bown said:

Hundreds of people have already come along to our exhibitions, and we’ve received many responses to the consultation in its first two weeks. We’ve still got four weeks left and we would like to hear from as many people as possible. I strongly urge anyone with a view on the plans to have their say as part of the consultation. They can do this by our online response form, by email, by post or by attending one of our events and filling in our response form in person.

Public exhibitions are being held during January:

The proposed sites for the lorry area are both near junction 11 of the M20 near Stanford and can be easily accessed from the motorway. Their location would mean that they could potentially be used to help manage any disruption affecting either the Port of Dover or EuroTunnel services.

The possible uses of the site could range from emergency use only to providing truck stop facilities 24 hours a day.

The consultation asks for views on the suitability of each of the proposed sites, and on how the lorry area should be operated.