Helen Grant, Member of Parliament for Maidstone and the Weald, has welcomed the launch of a public information exercise into the potential long term solutions to Operation Stack.
Highways England are inviting people from across the county to share their views on the potential options for dealing with the traffic congestion caused by cross channel ferry disruption. The proposals include plans for both on and off road lorry holding areas.
There are a range of ways in which members of the public can contribute; including by filling out an online questionnaire and by attending seven public information events which are taking place across Kent over the next month. Following the 6 week consultation period Highways England will analyse the responses and bring forward detailed proposals in the winter.
Welcoming the new phase of the process Helen said, 'I know that here in Maidstone and the Weald, the horror of the Summer of Stack 2015 will live long in the memory and there is a huge desire to ensure the disruption of that summer can never happen again.
Whilst the announcement of temporary measures to ensure the M20 can remain open during channel disruption are a step in the right direction, what our county really needs is a long term solution which will allow our major roads to continue to operate as normal even in the event of major disruption at Dover.
In order to ensure Kent gets the outcome it needs we need to continue to make the case and demonstrate the importance of finding a permanent alternative to Operation Stack as soon as possible. I would therefore encourage people across Maidstone and the Weald to respond to this exercise. I will be following the results extremely closely and with interest.'
