Action – Parking at Lay-bys

The County Council will carry out a review of lay-bys on the County road network to assess their suitability for overnight lorry parking and determine any improvements that need to be made.  Initially this will focus on lay-bys in the close vicinity of the national road network.  The County Council will also work with the Highways Agency to consider improvements to current roadside facilities on the trunk road network.

Action – Ashford Truck Stop

The County Council will work with the owners of Ashford Truck Stop and Ashford Borough Council to explore whether the current facility for overnight lorry parking can be retained and investigate the feasibility of expanding the site to increase its capacity.

Action – Expansion of Existing Official Sites

The County Council will work with the owners of the existing official sites providing overnight lorry parking and the relevant District Councils to determine the feasibility of increasing capacity at the sites and, where feasible, the means needed to achieve this.

Action – New Overnight Lorry Parking Sites

The County Council will work with the District Councils, Kent Police, the private sector and the freight industry to identify and bring forward an appropriate number of sites, with the required facilities, to meet the future estimated demand for overnight lorry parking.

Action - Management of Lorry Parks

In the event that the private sector is not able to provide new sites for overnight lorry parking, the County Council will aim to bring forward sites itself and then seek a private sector partner to operate and maintain these sites.

Action – Lorry Parking Information

The County Council will work with the Highways Agency, port operators, ferry operators and trade associations to provide comprehensive information on the availability and location of overnight lorry parking facilities in Kent.

Action - A20 Townwall Street

The County Council will work with the Highways Agency, Dover District Council and Dover Harbour Board to improvement conditions on A20 Townwall Street and access to the Eastern Docks.

Action - Dover Western Docks

The County Council will work with Dover District Council, Dover Harbour Board to review the proposals for Dover Western Docks with regard to the best use of the land that is currently allocated for a road-to-rail terminal.

Action - Thamesport

The County Council will support the improvement of the rail link to Thamesport to encourage the movement of freight by rail rather than road.

Action – M20 Junctions 3 - 5

The County Council will press the Highways Agency to bring forward capacity improvements to the M20 between Junction 3 (Wrotham) and Junction 5 (Maidstone) to reduce peak hour congestion.

Action – M2/A2 Improvements

The County Council will press the Highways Agency to bring forward improvements to the M2/A2 corridor that will provide a consistent standard resulting in better safety and capacity.  Improvements will focus on the Lydden to Dover section, Junction 7 (Brenley Corner) and Junction 5 (Sittingbourne/Sheerness).

Action – Lower Thames Crossing

The County Council will work with the Government, Essex County Council and others to investigate the feasibility of a Lower Thames Crossing and bring forward an appropriate scheme that will serve the growth of the Thames Gateway region and provide relief to the existing Dartford Crossing.

Action – M25/M26/A21 Additional Slips

The County Council will press the Highways Agency to bring forward additional slip roads between the A21 and the M25/M26 remove strategic traffic from alternative routes on the County Road Network.

Action – Quick-change Movable Barrier

The County Council will monitor the introduction of a Quick-change Movable Barrier as a short-term improvement for Phase 1 of Operation Stack.

Action – Operation Stack-Permanent Site

The County Council will work with the Highways Agency, Kent Police and District Councils to identify and bring forward a suitable site that will provide a long-term solution to Operation Stack.  The dual use of this site will be considered along with its operation in conjunction with the deployment of a Quick-change Movable Barrier.

Action – Channel Tunnel Rail Freight

The County Council will encourage the rail freight industry to increase the volume of freight transported between the UK and the Continent through the Channel Tunnel by  utilising freight paths on the classic network and on the CTRL.

Action – Loading Gauge Enhancement

The County Council will work with the rail freight industry to lobby Government and Network Rail to provide a route through Kent (in addition to the CTRL) cleared to W10 loading gauge between the Channel Tunnel and the West Coast Main Line.

Action – Road-to-Rail Interchanges

The County Council will support the provision of road-to-rail interchanges at appropriate locations and where they can clearly demonstrate a reduction in the level of HGV traffic on the road network in Kent.

Action – Traffic Management

The County Council will introduce traffic management measures to deter heavy goods vehicles from using unsuitable roads and inappropriate routes where a problem has been identified, subject to the availability of funding.

Action – Kent Lorry Route Map

The County Council will produce a revised Kent Lorry Route Map and ensure that this is promoted and distributed widely,  as well as being available on line.

Action – Information Technology

The County Council will work with the providers of information for satellite navigation systems and other electronic data sources to ensure that the information they provide relating to lorry routes in Kent is correct and up to date.

Action – Development Control

The County Council will work with the District Councils to ensure that developments likely to generate significant road freight movements are well connected to either the motorway and trunk road network or the County’s principal road network through the application of their planning policies.

Action – Masterplans for Kent Ports

The County Council will work with the owners of Kent’s ports and the relevant District Councils to encourage Masterplans to be developed and maintained for each port to assist the long-term planning of improvements to meet forecast growth.

Action – Kent International Airport

The County Council supports the development of air freight services at Kent International Airport (KIA) and will work with the airport owners and District Councils to ensure that any impact on local communities caused by the development of the airport is kept to a minimum.

Action – Kent Freight Partnership

The County Council will work with both public and private sector bodies in Kent to determine whether a Kent Freight Partnership is needed to take forward the actions identified in the Kent Freight Management Plan; what form this partnership should take; its remit, funding and executive support.

Action – Lorry User Charging

The County Council will work with Government, port authorities and the freight industry to explore ways and means of ensuring that international freight traffic passing through Kent covers its costs.

Action – Dartford Tolls

The County Council will press Government to fund improvements needed to manage the movement of freight through Kent from the profits from the Dartford Crossing tolls

Action – European Funding Bids

The County Council will work partners to identify the potential for EU structural funds to be used to finance improvements needed to manage the cross-border movement of freight traffic.