Lorries bound for the Channel ports will no longer be directed to Manston for customs checks or Covid tests from March 21. Emergency planners say they are suspending services for EU-bound HGVs at the former Manston Airport site. Starting Sunday March 21, freight heading for the Port of Dover will no longer be directed to attend the site.
All HGVs coast-bound will instead access the Operation Brock traffic management system between Junctions 8 and 9 on the M20 coastbound carriageway, with one lane being used for Eurotunnel and the other for the Port of Dover.
Assistant Chief Constable Claire Nix of Kent Police, who is also the chair of the Kent Resilience Forum, said: "Thanks to the hard work of all partners and those EU-bound motorists who have followed the requirements, there have been no significant traffic issues on Kent’s roads since the end of the EU transition period.”
“The suspension of services at the former Manston Airport site is the first major step in what we all hope will be an eventual return to business as usual, as it means HGV traffic bound for the Port of Dover will now be able to take a more direct route along the M20 with easier access to the full range of services that will be provided at the Sevington Inland Border Facility.”
"The recent agreement between the UK and French governments that HGV drivers who spend less than 48 hours in the country no longer need a negative Covid-19 test result before entering France gave partners the opportunity to review the traffic management plan and agree that the suspension of services at Manston is a step in the right direction.”
"I would like to reassure residents that while these changes may result in some local traffic disruption in the short term, we in the Kent Resilience Forum will continue to closely monitor freight volumes and remain committed to keeping Kent moving. I would also like to thank everyone for their patience as the country continues to adjust following the end of the EU transition period."
Source: kentonline.co.uk