Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,587
Going to be awful around Easter , people trying to get away , lorries stuck .
No one sorting it out
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Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,984
Keith I think you will find the Leader of DDC is working hard to resolve the problems .Did you see him on TV Yesterdayb? he has issued a press release .
Arthur- Registered: 18 Nov 2020
- Posts: 376
Oh, so that’s okay then, the leader of DDC is on to it as is our MP, so what’s to worry about then…….problems will be solved in the blink of an eye!!!
I wish……!
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Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,984
No Arthur just saying some people are in discussions with people in Authority.
Paul Watkins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 9 Nov 2011
- Posts: 2,225
Returned from Calais yesterday mid morning/early afternoon on DFDS . Plenty of space for cars . Well organised & excellent crew - not fully staffed- according to crew members. Easy access on outgoing & return trips. Greeted with lorry chaos onJubilee Way but well managed by Police at roundabout. Off ferry & home in Deal in 30 minutes. All P &O passengers were directed to Irish Ferries at Calais. Access from A26 at St Omer was smooth. Very few freight vehicles on road .
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,664
Sue Nicholas wrote:No Arthur just saying some people are in discussions with people in Authority.
Being a sceptic I doubt those discussions will change anything, past ones have had no affect where this area is concerned, we still suffer.
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Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,587
Press releases and photo calls not quite the same as action Sue
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Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,984
Keith what more do you expect .Discussions are taking place .Do you expect the Leader to physically remove Lorries.?? He is in discussions and hopefully he will be heard. I have written to people as has Garry over the years.You know what the press are like .I thought the Leader did a good job in the TV Interveiw. Have you written to anyone except complain on here.I received a quick response to my emails .
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,587
Sue
Like many I have complained on this issue
These guys like your friend the leader have a little more power (not a lot)
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Arthur- Registered: 18 Nov 2020
- Posts: 376
As I recall Gary mentioned some time ago (if my recollections are correct and I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong) that the issue of moving TAP further back to the Capel junction is connected to policing duties and who is then responsible for the traffic movements. Under the present arrangements TAP is the responsibility of Dover Harbour police but if moved it then comes under Kent Police/ Kent Highways and presumably it then comes down to resourcing and crucially money.
Please feel free to shoot me down if I’ve got this wrong or if I’ve over simplified the situation but I’d like to bet that money is at the root of the problem and the solution.
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Open letter from Trevor Bartlett just arrived in my inbox. Let's wait and see, eh?
Arthur- Registered: 18 Nov 2020
- Posts: 376
Open Letter from the Leader of the Council - Dover and the Easter Getaway
This weekend (8-10 April) is again likely to be challenging on the local road network. With P&O Ferries still not operating from Dover, the port will be under severe pressure throughout the busy Easter getaway.
It would be remiss of me not to warn you to expect, and prepare for, some disruption again this weekend. But I have made it clear to the Kent Resilience Forum, Kent Police and Kent County Council that we will not tolerate another weekend of gridlock in Dover.
For too long, local residents and businesses have had to endure disruption and quite frankly, deserve better.
We share your concerns about the impact of gridlock on local businesses, and access to vital health and social care for our most vulnerable residents. And many are rightly worried about how the emergency services would be able to respond to a major incident when all routes into the town are effectively cut off.
Keeping Dover clear must be the top priority.
That means prompt and effective action to keep key junctions and roundabouts clear, and rigorous enforcement to penalise HGV drivers jumping the queue by using Dover town centre as a rat run.
We will be monitoring the situation closely throughout the weekend and I will not hesitate to authorise DDC Officers to declare a major incident if we see signs of the sort of congestion witnessed last weekend. Declaring a major incident would force the issue and trigger a more robust response.
Finally, I want to assure you that we are applying pressure at the highest levels for a long-term solution. Together with our local MP and the Leader of Kent County Council, I met with the Roads Minister on Monday.
We were united in calling for more investment in Dover to ensure that our road network is fit for purpose, both for local residents and businesses and as the nation’s Gateway.
Cllr Trevor Bartlett
Leader of Dover District Council
Arthur- Registered: 18 Nov 2020
- Posts: 376
From Kent Resilience Team
Local communities should prepare for potential disruption on the roads this weekend (8-10 April) as the Easter getaway gets underway.
With P&O Ferries cancelling all services this weekend and potential for poor weather conditions, tourists and hauliers using cross-Channel services from Dover and Folkestone are being advised to allow extra time for their journey and to be prepared for long delays.
Traffic management is in place for cross-Channel freight traffic which must join the queue on the M20. HGV drivers are advised that enforcement is in place across the Kent network to deal with queue jumping and you will be sent to the back of the queue.
Inevitably, this is having a major impact on local traffic. Local diversions are in place, but please allow extra time for your journey. Arrangements are also in place to filter HGVs making local deliveries.
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 2,911
Arthur wrote:As I recall Gary mentioned some time ago (if my recollections are correct and I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong) that the issue of moving TAP further back to the Capel junction is connected to policing duties and who is then responsible for the traffic movements. Under the present arrangements TAP is the responsibility of Dover Harbour police but if moved it then comes under Kent Police/ Kent Highways and presumably it then comes down to resourcing and crucially money.
Please feel free to shoot me down if I’ve got this wrong or if I’ve over simplified the situation but I’d like to bet that money is at the root of the problem and the solution.
That's broadly correct. The Port of Dover Police is usually responsible for, ah, policing the A20 TAP - once it has been activated. There is some discussion whether the Marine Navigation Act 2013 empowers PoDP (with the approval of the Kent Chief Officer) to police a TAP further away from PoDP's usual jurisdiction of 'port estate + 1 mile '; personally I think it does but Neil Wiggins was going to check. All that said, PoDP is a small force with a limited number of Officers.
The attraction of the Capel junction is that it has a (grade-separated) roundabout that enables queue jumpers to be turned back when TAP is running in conjunction with Stack (or whatever we're calling it this week), although it reduces TAP's own capacity of course. There is an underpass between the junction and Aycliffe but it's used for farm traffic I believe.
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Weird Granny Slater- Location: Dover
- Registered: 7 Jun 2017
- Posts: 2,862
Question (naive perhaps): how does KRT (or Kent Police, or DDC) communicate with HGV drivers heading for Dover (e.g. the warning about 'queue jumping')? Is it assumed drivers follow official twitter accounts or subscribe to DDC emails?
'Pass the cow dung, my dropsy's killing me' - Heraclitus
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,664
Weird Granny Slater wrote:Question (naive perhaps): how does KRT (or Kent Police, or DDC) communicate with HGV drivers heading for Dover (e.g. the warning about 'queue jumping')? Is it assumed drivers follow official twitter accounts or subscribe to DDC emails?
Some will not fully understand because of language difficulties others are just plain selfish idiots who think any directive does not apply to them. Surely the drivers get informed at the Dartford crossing and all other overhead road information points leading to Dover.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Reginald Barrington- Location: Dover
- Registered: 17 Dec 2014
- Posts: 3,206
There are multiple signs on M11, A1, M1, M40, M4, M3, M23 and M25 that say "All hgv traffic for Port of Dover to use M20" it doesnt give any more information than that. So knowing there is no penalty system in place why would they join a huge queue if there is a chance of getting home a day or two early?
Arte et Marte
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 2,911
I see that freight no longer needs a Kent Access Permit (KAP)* to enter Kent. The 'Check an HGV is ready to cross the border' service has also closed.
* also known as Kermit. Back in 2021 Police and DVSA enforcement officers either were able, or it was intended that they would be able, to issue penalties to hauliers found heading for Dover or Eurotunnel without a KAP. The fine of £300 per lorry would be imposed on the driver, rather than the haulier or freight forwarder who has formal responsibility for completing the customs paperwork.
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ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
As I understand it from former colleagues, GVMS was 'down' last weekend.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/list-of-ports-using-the-goods-vehicle-movement-service
This wasn't publicised and you can only draw your own conclusions from that. This may be a partial explanation for what you describe..
I don't know this as a fact because I no longer work in the industry and therefore cannot personally verify it.
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Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,587
Talking about the disruption to Dover lasting over 3 weeks
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