Brexit: Government has yet to release funding for vital preparations at Dover, MPs told
Port bosses still waiting for ministers to hand over money to complete required upgrades, with just weeks to go until transition period ends
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Your support makes all the difference.The government has still not released funding for vital infrastructure work at the port of Dover with just weeks to go until the transition period ends, MPs heard on Wednesday.
A schedule for the work is “cutting it quite tight” ahead of the 31 December deadline, said Tim Reardon, head of Brexit planning at the port.
He told the Commons Treasury Committee that although some construction was underway, other projects have not even started because government funding was not yet available.
Mr Reardon's comments will heighten fears that ports through which billions of pounds of imports and exports flow every week face chaos and gridlock from 1 January. They come after revelations that up to 29 additional lorry parks will be built across England in order to cope with border disruption after Brexit.
"Government has a funding scheme which is due to open for application later this month, clearly that's cutting it quite tight for stuff to be actually delivered and in place when significant civil works are involved by early next year,” Mr Reardon said.
"There is new infrastructure that is needed. Some of it is under construction already, others of it has yet to begin.
"Plans have been drawn up. But for it to begin funding needs to be in place to support its construction.
Dover also needs a "wharf approval", a required designation for any port handling international goods, but HM Revenue & Customs has yet to provide it, Mr Reardon said.
He added: "Government on this side of the water needs to be ready with a number of things which are currently in the planning stage but are not finally delivered."
Asked what happens where lorries have not completed the required paperwork, Mr Reardon replied bluntly:
"They need to be ready. Their ability to embark on a ferry bound for France will be conditional upon their having made the declaration that French authorities require. If they haven't made the declarations they won’t be permitted to embark on the ferry."
Lorry drivers without the correct paperwork will have to turn around and leave the port, risking huge disruption at the site.
"Dover is a gateway. It is not a depot where lorries can park up while somebody waits for somebody else to do a declaration," Mr Reardon said.
Of the 29 new lorry parks, local residents will have no say over the construction of the sites, which are required because of growing fears that truck drivers will face long delays to enter the EU, or be turned away altogether.
Some are in inland areas – Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Solihull – while others are in coastal trading hotspots, including in Kent, Essex, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
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