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Are you fed up with the M20 closures every time there is bad weather or a strike in France?

With Operation Stack coming into force for the third time this year, and we're only into the third week of  2007,  Kent County Council has launched an 'End Stack now' petition to persuade the government that enough is enough.

Proposals for a 'Quick Moveable Barrier' are a short term interim measure which will maintain two way flow on the northbound carriageway of the M20 between junctions 11 (for Hythe) and 12 (Cheriton) while allowing lorries to be parked on the southbound carriageway. The county council believes that although this is an expensive and short-term option, it is one that could be implemented quickly.

The county council says the government must also accept the responsibility to fund a permanent lorry park for at least 2000 vehicles - a permanent solution to Operation Stack and a major step to limit the growing problem of illegal lorry parking in Kent.

"Kent has borne the impact of cross Channel freight traffic for too long, and the problem will only get worse as traffic volumes increase," said KCC Cabinet Member Keith Ferrin.

"We are working closely with Dover and district councils in the Channel Corridor, and with the police and the haulage industry, to find a permanent solution. But this will take time. We hope that the petition will allow the people of Kent to tell the government that we need action and that we need it now."

Councillor Eric Hotson, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council, said: "It is quite wrong that the economy of Maidstone and Kent is paralysed several times a year by the government's unwillingness to find a proper solution to Operation Stack."

Ashford Borough Council Leader Paul Clokie said: "We welcome and support the petition and call on all residents and businesses to sign it. Operation Stack can have a negative impact on perceptions of Kent as a location for business and investment and we need to tackle that directly. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the Channel Corridor Partnership to identify a comprehensive long term solution."

Dover District Council Leader Paul Watkins said: "Dover is really beginning to pick up economically, but we need good strategic access at all times and turning the M20 into a lorry park is not helpful."

Shepway District Council Leader Robert Bliss added: "Shepway is becoming a fantastic place to live and work - but progress towards that goal is hampered whenever the M20 becomes a lorry park."

Executive Director of the Channel Corridor Partnership Janice Wason said: "I am particularly pleased to support the county's efforts to have this issue highlighted nationally. Doing nothing is no longer an option and this needs to be made clear to central government."

Click to sign the 'End Stack Now' petition!