Massive lorry park plans announced to ease Operation Stack chaos

OPERATION STACK is the name of the system used to park HGV’s when tailbacks onto the M20 in Kent become unmanageable.  This is usually triggered by events disrupting cross channel traffic such as the Calais migrant crisis or French lorry worker strikes. 

However this still generally results in huge tailbacks and a site described as “Disneyland-sized” has been proposed in Stanford West to act as a lorry park. Critics say this is not a solution and the £250m (€292m) has been greeted with dismay by environmental groups and many locals. 

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said “Operation Stack is only ever used as a last resort but we recognise the impact it has on roads in Kent, and we are determined to deliver an alternative solution.” 

Last resort or not Operation Stack has been put into action with increasing frequency, 32 times in 2015.  Representatives of hauliers welcomed the move but said that that it was important that the root causes for the issue are still tackled.