HOUSE OF COMMONS TRANSPORT COMMITTEE Written Evidence from Port of Dover to support Oral Evidence Session for Operation Stack Inquiry Summary The Port of Dover handles £100 billion of trade. That is almost the equivalent of the combined online retail sales of the UK (£44.97bn), Germany (£36.23bn) and France (26.38bn) last year (source: Centre for Retail Research). The Port of Dover handles 13 million passengers each year. That is the equivalent of more than the UK’s fifth busiest airport - Luton. Add to that the 10+ million passengers handled by Eurotunnel and this key transport corridor (handling 23 million passengers, or even 33 million if including the 10 million Eurostar passengers) would be the equivalent of the third busiest airport behind Heathrow and Gatwick (Manchester handled 22 million in 2014). Operation Stack has traditionally been needed during times of stress such as strike action in Calais, extreme weather conditions or Channel Tunnel problems (e.g. migrant incursions, line failure etc). Why did it happen for such a prolonged period during the summer of 2015? Was it because of bad weather or technical issues at the Port of Dover? Absolutely not and such reasons are rare. The Port of Dover had nothing to do with the unprecedented summer of disruption. Furthermore, the Port of Dover remained open for business throughout. The cause of Operation Stack and the ensuing disruption was industrial action in France and mass migrant incursions at Eurotunnel. Would we allow the majority of services from one of our major airports to be curtailed for a prolonged period by such issues? Of course not. So why do we allow it to happen to an equivalent passenger hub at Dover that also handles £100 billion of the nation’s trade at the same time on a core EU transport corridor? Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover 1 16 October 2015 The key is delivering greater resilience on this corridor. That is done partly through partnerships, from Calais to Dover, Kent Police to Highways England, the Port to Eurotunnel. It also requires infrastructure investment to support future traffic growth not only at the Port but also in the hinterland to remove blockages. And why do 13 million passengers come to Dover? Because when we are allowed to, we deliver the biggest, best and most efficient service on the shortest sea crossing between the UK and mainland Europe. During the summer, the Port of Dover did not shut once – it remained open for business. Of course there is a naturally greater resilience to the ferry system when compared to the Tunnel (anything that interrupts or blocks the Tunnel means that straight away it is at less than 50% capacity). That is why within 10 days of the last incident of Operation Stack in early August the Port was back to normal handling record volumes. The UK and French governments need to make sure we can continue to do that as it is in all of our interests. This is a debate about our trading island nation maintaining the economic recovery. That is the challenge and what we saw this summer is the stark reality of what happens when the system becomes blocked and we are therefore prevented from doing our job as effectively as we normally do by the actions of others. How does Operation Stack work? Once Stack has been implemented, tourist and non-Port traffic is separated out at the Junction 8 roundabout of the M20 and diverted via the A20. Freight traffic for the Port and Eurotunnel is sent back onto the M20 into the Stack process. Port and Eurotunnel traffic is separated by Kent Police into dedicated lanes to await labelling and dispatch to either venue. Port of Dover traffic, for example, is labelled and dispatched by Port of Dover staff helping on site at Stack in close liaison with the Port’s operational team and with Kent Police. The number of freight vehicles to be sent will be determined by the available capacity and uplift at the Port and Eurotunnel. In Dover, the Port of Dover Police are sent out to the Eastern Docks and York Street roundabouts on the A20 in Dover and remain there for the duration of Stack. This is in order to keep traffic congestion to a minimum in support of the local community and to turn around freight vehicle traffic that is unlabelled in order to send it to the back of Stack (helping Kent Police to maintain the integrity of Stack). The Port’s operations team remains in very close contact with Kent Police in order to ensure that Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover 2 16 October 2015 traffic is being managed in the best way possible and so Stack and the Port are both operating as efficiently as possible within the constraints of the reasons for Stack’s implementation. This also applies to communications, where the Port’s team is in regular contact with counterparts at Kent Police, Highways England, Kent County Council, the ferry operators and others as required, agreeing key messaging. This is to ensure that the Port can issue regular, accurate and helpful information 24/7 to its customers and community via its website (www.doverport.co.uk), its dedicated Twitter feed (@PoD_travelnews) and through the media. What are the alternatives to Operation Stack? Remove the blockages in the transport system. Keep France open! Operation Stack was caused by a combination of industrial action in Calais and mass migrant incursions at Eurotunnel. Stack and alternatives to it are all contingency measures, dealing with symptoms rather than the cause. If France stays open then there is not a problem (except in freak weather situations which will likely affect the wider transport network too). Maintaining fluidity and resilience is therefore the key. Government must commit to the Lower Thames Crossing without delay – events on the French side of the Channel this summer have shown what happens when there is a blockage in this strategic international freight corridor between Europe and the UK (including to the Midlands and the North). With the Dartford Crossing operating above its design capacity, new infrastructure is required for our transport networks and key freight corridors to remain free flowing and above all resilient. Impact of Manston solution? The Port welcomed Government’s intervention in finding a solution to the disruption over the summer. However, creating a heavy goods vehicle holding area at the former Manston Airport site for Port of Dover bound traffic raises concerns in that it will not deliver lasting resilience on what is a strategically important freight corridor handling £100 billion of UK/European trade each year. Noting that the Port remained resilient and stayed open throughout the summer, the significant initial inconvenience of diverting its traffic 25 miles north of its preferred route on the M20 and onto the A2/M2, then followed by a further journey from Manston to Dover, is questionable. Manston finds little favour with freight hauliers that use Dover, the ferry operators based in Dover, Port of Dover, or any of the affected local authorities in the far eastern sections of Kent (Dover, Deal, Sandwich or Thanet). Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover 3 16 October 2015 Faced with the stark choice between a 46 mile circuitous diversion via Manston which in part uses a congested single track road, or a clear run using a bespoke managed 3 lane motorway direct to the threshold of a competitor almost every haulier will inevitably choose the faster, shorter route (to Eurotunnel). At present, the Port of Dover enjoys a hard won 62% market share; it is felt that Stack (Manston) will substantially and unfairly threaten this. The plan relies on LGV drivers voluntarily following signage to divert them from the shorter, more frequently used route to Dover. Perhaps most significantly it takes drivers away from the route identified by satellite navigation systems. This is not a tactic that is likely to secure a significant track record of success with LGV drivers. How could Stack be improved? Are there alternatives to the Manston solution? As part of the Port of Dover’s positive participation with the group of partners looking at alternative Stack solutions, the Port conducted its own detailed examination of options to find one which worked for the Port and for Kent. In carrying out this analysis, the Port identified two options worthy of serious further exploration; either utilising a section of the A256 dual carriageway or the A2 at Lydden Hill. The A256 has a substantial section of under-utilised dual carriageway that runs between Dover and Eastry. Such an option could handle over 1,000 freight vehicles. The A2 scheme could extend from the Lydden Hill junction (the last section of dual carriageway) northwards to the Bridge junction and could hold 640 LGVs. Both options directly feed Dover and would be particularly beneficial for local hauliers who currently have to travel some 40 miles to join the back of Stack. A further option with minimal advantages using the A2 Jubilee Way was also identified but is the least favoured. Keeping the Port’s traffic closer to the intended departure point reduces lorry miles, air pollution and is more efficient as the Port can better time the release of vehicles from the Stack to match available capacity in the Port. Whilst the Port will continue to work positively with partners in operating the Manston scheme as and when required, it still believes that the potential options may have considerable benefits for local hauliers, for the Port and operation of the Stack, for the residents of Dover and also the residents of Thanet.