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Board has unveiled expansion plans to deal with the predicted rise in traffic over the next 20 years. Dylan
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Gray went to Dover
to discuss them with Dover Harbour Board chief executive Bob Goldfield.
In 2006 no less than 2.3 million CVs passed through the port of Dover. along with 2.7 million cars and coaches. CV traffic is expected to rise to 3.12 million by 2014 and to 4.52 million by 2034. With the port currently running at almost full capacity these predictions have spurred the port authorities to act now.
Plans to expand its Western Dock area to cope with future demand have been released by the Dover Harbour Board.The expansion will cost about 1300m and will create 2,600 newjobs. If all goes to plan work will start in 2009 with a completion date in 2012/2013.
We are currently running out of capacity on land and the water especially,says Dover Harbour Board chief executive Bob Goldfield. -There has been a significant increase in vehicles in every area, especially commercial vehicles. The port is at near full capacity in almost all areas."
A short-term survey undertaken in 2001 was recently updated to predict the port's long-term future. Goldfield says: "We have done the forecasts and feel this is the right thing to do."
Port denies pressure
With a predicted increase of about a million CVs in eight years, it might be construed that the Port of Dover is acting under pressure from the ferry operators, but Goldfield denies this: "The ferry operators expect port authorities to provide the capacity that they need,though it is not for them to say how we go about it."
Of particular concern to operators and general road users is Operation Stack, which has been implemented a few times recently due to bad weatherconditions and the closure of French ports.This is the plan that forces trucks to queue along the M20 leading into Dover,creating huge problems in surrounding areas.
"The new port is not going to solve Operation Stack," Goldfield admits. "When it is initially opened it will provide a certain amount of buffering.Things will improve for a time."
However, he warns that without remedial action, Operation Stack will be invoked more often: "Once we finish terminal two, as we are calling it, there will certainly be a different requirement regarding Operation Stack [because of the increase in traffic].
"That is a separate issue though, and will certainly need to be addressed."
Operation Stack was brought up at a public hearing in Dover Town Hall, where one angry
The operator's view
"An expansion of the port Is natural growth and I'm all for it. twill be good for Dover as it will provide a lot of extra employment. More berths will mean more freight and more trucks, which brings up the issue of Operation Stack. If the port is to be extended successfully it needs the whole package. Most of the ports problems are inland with the queues of trucks ranging up the M20. Once these problems are solved it should all work very well."
Mike Beer, managing director of Dover-based Mike Beer Transport resident spoke about constantly being stuck in stationary traffic. It was suggested that a truck parking area should be built outside Dover.
Goldfield agrees this would be a good idea, but points out that Dover's surrounding area is officially classed as one with 'natural beauty' which makes it incredibly hard to secure planning permission.
Initial plans for the new terminal include a parking area for trucks which would be built to "Things can't continue the way they are going with Operation Stack. A dock expansion will improve the situation, but will not solve the problem We use various other ports including Felixstowe and Ramsgate and can still say Dover is the best for pulling trailers out of. To solve the queue problem I believe we need an but-oftown lorry parking and booking-in centre to keep the traffic off the M20. Another aid would be hatched roundabouts to stop trucks blocking noon exits."
Martin Husk, managing director of Coombe Valley Transport accommodate about 270 artics. There are huge problems at the moment, Goldfield reports, particularly because the system is so delicately balanced: "If the weather is off it immediately affects commercial vehicles, because our port and Calais are up to capacity."
He was not able to put an exact figure on the average length of delays, because they vary according to circumstance.
The new port will not just have an impact on how much freight can pass into and Out of the South-East—it will also have an environmental effect. For example, the planning takes account of the increased carbon and general emissions from road vehicles as well as ships — but these figures which help quantify its environmental impact have not yet been released.
Goldfield describes the planning permission process as long and tortuous: Our next step is to refine the ideas with the help of the general public. The refined designs should be complete by the end of the year and then the planning permission takes another year and a half.We're pretty confident we'll get it."
If the extension does go ahead, Goldfield is equally confident that normal service will not be interrupted: "The Eastern Port will remain open and run as usual .We have around 9,000 to 10,000 trucks a day coming through this port, so another 100 or so from the construction site aren't going to make much difference."
Eastern Port is bigger
Terminal two will be the second largest port in the UK after its Eastern Port brother, according to Goldfield. It will be unique as it encompasses redevelopment plans for the town of Dover.
Along with the ferry terminals and truck parks, the scheme includes a marina, residential buildings and a shopping and eating area."This would be part of the pay-back for Dover, to compensate for the impact the port will have on the town," he says. However, some Dover residents have claimed the proposed plan is just a revenue raising exercise and that its location will be separated from Dover's town area by the major through road.
Coinciding with Dover's plans is a proposed expansion of Calais, although it would not be complete by the time Dover was up and running. "Calais has different issues," says Goldfield. "They are going to have to build a whole new harbour. It's a big project, which would see their capacity match ours."
Reactions to Dover's plans seem to be pretty good, though the main issue lies with Operation Stack. If this could be solved, Dover could be seen as the best port in the UK. •