Spaces will be available in the new lorry park near Stanford for summer 2017, the roads Minister Andrew Jones has said.
This is great progress towards a long-term solution for Operation Stack.
After disruption at the Channel crossings last summer caused chaos on the roads, I campaigned for investment in a permanent lorry park so that the M20 would no longer have to be closed to queue thousands of lorries. You can read more about my campaign here.
Last year the Chancellor committed £250 million for a new lorry park to end the misery of Operation Stack.
Highways England has now completed its public consultation on this project and is expected to report to the Department of Transport shortly.
In a letter - which you can read by clicking the attachment below - Andrew Jones assured me that the project is being delivered as quickly as possible. Parking spaces will be available as soon as they are built, with the first spaces expected to be completed in time for the 2017 tourist season.
In the meantime Manston Airfield will be available as a temporary solution if Operation Stack is activated.
