Brexit: Kent County Council given new powers to fine truckers

Council officials said they planned a reasonable approach to lorry parking enforcement

A council has been given new powers to penalise lorry drivers who park illegally, in an effort to tackle potential congestion from 1 January.

For the first time, Kent County Council will be allowed to clamp lorries and issue penalty notices in certain areas.

Council leader Roger Gough said lorry parking problems were likely to worsen after the Brexit transition period ends.

The temporary powers will be in place for the first six months of 2021.

The announcement was made at a Kent County Council meeting on Thursday, but the Road Haulage Association (RHA) criticised the measures as "totally unfair and unreasonable".

The enforcement will focus on the county's major roads including in Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, Maidstone, Swale and Thanet.

'Deterrent'

Mr Gough said anti-social lorry parking was already a problem but he hoped the temporary powers would act as a "deterrent" to ensure "key routes on Kent's road network are kept clear".

The council's director of highways, Simon Jones, said lorry drivers on short statutory breaks will be exempt from any enforcement and that the authority will take "a reasonable but targeted approach".

It comes as the EU announced contingency plans in case of the possible collapse of Brexit trade talks with the UK.

The RHA said: "We estimate there is an 11,000-space shortage for truck drivers to park up legally nationally.

"These fines mean drivers will be displaced out of Kent and into somewhere else like Sussex and Essex."

The council said it was arranging contracts to ensure patrolling within the seven boroughs.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].