Brexit lorry holding area for Portsmouth Port to close early

Customs documents have been needed by lorries crossing the English Channel since the end of the Brexit transition period

A holding area for lorries travelling through Portsmouth after the Brexit transition period is to be closed earlier than planned, a group set up to deal with border changes has said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum set up a "triage area" on the A31 between Alresford and Winchester to check customs paperwork.

There had been concerns about queues building up at Portsmouth Port.

The forum said there had been "strong compliance" of correct paperwork.

Customs documents for lorries crossing the Channel changed on 1 January when the UK's transition period after leaving the EU ended.

There were concerns that without frictionless trade, and paperwork checks for freight waiting to enter the EU taking longer, waiting lorries would back up and block the motorway outside the port.

The lorry triage was set up on the on the A31 between Alresford and Winchester

The lorry triage on the A31 had space for 235 vehicles. It was expected to remain in operation for 12 weeks, but instead is being closed after eight - with fewer than a third of the expected 250 lorries using it each day.

Neil Odin, chief fire officer and chair of the resilience forum, said it had planned for a "reasonable worst case scenario".

"Every indicator tells us that things are running smoothly enough to allow us to be proactive and make this important decision to downscale our operation ahead of time.

"Of course, there are still risks as volumes of freight are still volatile but there is a balance to strike and we have listened carefully to hauliers, local people and those who represent them."

A triage area for up to 40 lorries at Tipner on the edge of Portsmouth will remain on standby to deal with any fluctuations in freight levels, the forum said.

The lorry processing point at Tipner will remain on stand-by