Work has begun on yet another Kent lorry park as diggers carved up farmland above the White Cliffs of Dover today for a new post-Brexit customs facility.
Once complete, the site in Guston, near Dover, will be able to hold 1,200 trucks, should there be delays at the ports similar to those seen last month.
Work is well underway at a similar facility in Sevington, Ashford, which will be able to hold up to 2,000 trucks.
The sites in Guston and Sevington are set to be used for post-Brexit customs checks to prevent delays at nearby ports – with three other sites in Kent are set to also be up and running by July.
But villagers are up in arms over at Guston, referred to as the Dover White Cliffs site, amid fears it will replace Manston Airport as the main holding bay for lorries in the event of cross-Channel delays.
Diggers were at the Dover White Cliffs site in Guston today to start work on a post-Brexit customs check point
The site, just three miles from the Port of Dover, is set to be open in July, with enough space for 1,200 lorries to park up should there be delays at the border
Once up and running, Dover White Cliffs will carry out checks for the Port of Dover, while Sevington will monitor Eurotunnel checks.
Work on the Kent coast comes after thousands of lorries trapped were trapped in the county last month when France closed its border to Britain.
Lorry drivers were forced to park up at Manston Airport, where there is provision for 4,000 HGVs, as well as Ashford International Lorry Park, which has space for 200, while the M20 was also used as a holding bay under Operation Stack.
The site in Guston is one of five post-Brexit customs check points that will be used in Kent from July onwards – with some already up and running
Manston Airport and Ebbsfleet International already have space to hold lorries, and villagers in Guston are up in arms over plans to create even more parking spaces in their quiet village
The Department for Transport has denied claims that the Guston site will replace Dover as the main holding site in the event of delays at the ports
Work is underway on another customs checkpoint, with space for up to 2,000 lorries, in Sevington, Ashford
Kent will have five customs check facilities up and running by July, which will monitor traffic using the Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover
Post-Brexit plans have spread custom check points across the county.
Government documents show there are plans to continue using Manston Airport, while building a second site at Ashford to use when Sevington is unavailable.
Further away from the ports, Ebbsfleet International could also be used for Eurotunnel checks, with KentOnline reporting it has space for 256 lorries.
Villagers in Guston are up in arms over the arrival of the checkpoint, which is expected to be up and running in July.
Charlotte Ashmore, whose son has autism, told The Guardian: ‘I’m absolutely devastated.
‘I’m considering putting the house on the market but we’ve just got a new five-year mortgage so we are trapped.’
Former lorry driver and Guston resident Mick Palmer is concerned lorry drivers will use the site to park up, rather than just as a customs facility. Work has begun today with plans to open the site by the summer
Villagers have raised concerns over how close the lorry park will be to existing homes, with some saying they plan to move away
Once up and running, Guston will carry out customs checks for lorries using the Port of Dover
Sites in Sevington and Ebbsfleet International will monitor Eurotunnel checks. Pictured: Work getting underway in Guston earlier today
Former lorry driver Mick Palmer, who also lives in the village, is concerned lorry drivers will use the site to park up, rather than just as a customs facility.
He said: ‘I know exactly what will happen. Lorries have nowhere to park in Kent, and they will come in here and stop and wave their tachograph and say: “I’m not moving.”‘
The Department for Transport was forced to deny claims the site in Guston was going to replace Manston, which held thousands of lorries during last month’s disruption.
The Government reiterated the Dover White Cliffs site was to be used as a customs check facility.
MailOnline has approached the DfT for comment.