Coronavirus testing centre shut down to make way for Brexit lorry park

A coronavirus testing centre has shut down to make way for a lorry park to deal with queues expected after Brexit.

The land at Ebbsfleet International railway station in Kent is understood to be earmarked as one of an array of inland facilities being prepared in up to 29 council areas to allow hauliers to deal with the extra paperwork caused by Brexit.

The government expects at least an additional 200 million export documents to be required annually after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December, whether Boris Johnson secures a free trade agreement or not.

Ministers have already identified a location in Ashford, Kent, to handle some of the thousands of lorries expected to be delayed passing through Dover and other ports every day. And other sites are expected to be created further away from the ports, with a leaked official document today predicting queues of up to two days, with truckers having to obtain a “Kent entry permit” before travelling to the county.

Planning permission was granted in September 2019 to allow use of the Ebbsfleet site temporarily for customs clearance until the end of this year.

But work at one of the car parks at the station this was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The site has been used as a Covid testing site, with a capacity for about 2,000 tests a day, but earlier this month testing staff were told "out of the blue" that it would be closing, the BBC reported.

Local councillor Sacha Gosine warned that the arrival of large numbers of trucks would cause disruption in the area, telling the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The infrastructure at Ebbsfleet cannot cope with lorries."

Cllr Gosine said it would be a "logistical nightmare" for officials.

Kent County Council declined to comment on the development, saying decisions were taken at a central government level.

A UK Government Spokesperson said: "Regional testing sites were set up at great speed and selected for their immediate availability, security and access. The regional testing site at Ebbsfleet has ceased operations and a new regional testing site is operating at Curtis Way, Rochester. The relocation will allow the network to continue operating as long as needed.

"In July 2020, the government committed to spending £470m on new border infrastructure to support ports in building extra capacity to meet the new control requirements where there is space to do so, and, if necessary, to build additional inland sites across the country where checks can take place.

"Final decisions on inland sites will not be made until we have established the extent of new infrastructure that will be delivered at ports."