Controversial plans for an enormous Brexit customs clearance park in Dover with a capacity for 1,200 trucks have been dramatically downsized in a major victory for local opponents. Devastated homeowners have spent seven months fighting the plans, under which former farmland would have been concreted over, an ancient Roman way destroyed and night-time light and noise pollution caused for families living just 25 metres away. But at a meeting last Friday, representatives from HM Revenue and Customs confirmed to the local parish council their U-turn. Instead of 1,200 lorries, the site will now accommodate just 96, with 20 extra spaces for reversing trucks, and take up just a quarter of the original space. HMRC officials told local people they had “learned the lessons” from the vast Brexit lorry park 22 miles away in Sevington, near Ashford. In a letter to residents, Guston parish council said: “HMRC have confirmed that lighting will be a moonlight level.” It has also moved the site 450 metres away from homes and plans to build two-metre “bunds” or artificial hills to mitigate the noise and disruption of views over the fields for residents. “We think this is a real result for us,” said one of the members of Guston parish council who had been one of those leading the opposition. “Clearly we still have concerns about what will happen to the remaining three-quarters of the site and the design of the site, but overall we are pleasantly surprised and pleased they are engaging with us,” the councillor, who did not want to be named, said.
Dover and Deal Green party member Sarah Gleave said she was concerned the road infrastructure and single carriageway would still be a nightmare for the local people and environment. Building work is not due to start until February or March, which means it is unlikely to be ready before the summer six months after Brexit checks will be completely implemented. This could mean lorries being diverted to the Ashford site closer to the Eurotunnel exit at Folkestone. Gleave believes there is still time to relocate the site to a safer site further inland where the A2 has a dual carriageway. Earlier this year local people said they felt betrayed and trapped by the “lies” of the government over the plans. One mother told how she moved to the quiet village because her autistic son found light and noise challenging. Her neighbour Mick Palmer said he “would not trust” the government because of the way it had foisted the plans on residents without warning on New Year’s Eve. But his wife, Jill, said: “It’s such a relief that they are not going through with this. It’s still going to be there but not going to affect us as much.” The site is needed to cater for the extra procedures caused by Brexit including customs paperwork and physical health checks on food and animal imports. But under the new plans only HMRC checks will be conducted at the site, with two separate sites for other controls, according to well-informed sources. The most disruptive element of the lorry park, involving physical health checks on chilled and frozen food, will be moved to an undisclosed site in nearby Whitfield currently being negotiated by government procurement officials. Local sources say one option mooted is an empty warehouse which could be converted to a refrigerated loading bay where trucks with suspicious cargo could be unloaded for inspection. A third site, described as akin to a “farm at the side of the road” will be used to conduct checks on live animals, such as cattle being imported for breeding purposes and racehorses returning from meetings in France. Tim Reardon, company secretary and head of EU exit at the Port of Dover raised concerns that the government might not be ready for October and January, the deadlines for the remaining Brexit checks to come into force. “Building infrastructure takes time and the government needs to factor that into its timescales for new border controls,” he said. “It also needs to tell the logistics industry what inland border sites will be available and when, so that the army of businesses that make up the UK’s supply chain know what they are dealing with.” HMRC has also confirmed to local people that the site will now be “long-term”, but the emergency planning approval covered by the special development order will only last until December 2025 and full planning consultation will take place if the site is required from 2026. A government spokesperson confirmed the downsizing of the White Cliffs site and that the plans for food and animal sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks at the site had been scrapped.
“We have reviewed plans for the border facilities in Kent needed to undertake customs, sanitary and phytosanitary inspections on EU goods as it is important we have suitable facilities delivering value for money for taxpayers,” they said. “HMRC is working closely with the planning authority on the submission of a special development order for the White Cliffs site for customs checks, and as part of this there will be an estimated two-week public engagement period. “For SPS checks, our modelling demonstrates that we can meet the requirements through the facilities at Sevington and a new smaller site in Dover. We are working closely with Dover Port Health Authority to finalise these plans.” They said HRMC had now taken ownership of the site from the Department for Transport and would continue to engage with local people over all border control sites.