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Date submitted

12 Sep 2025

Submitted by

Interested Party

The facility has had a demonstrably negative impact on the local community and violates key principles under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which requires developments to avoid unacceptable harm to health, safety, and residential amenity. The light pollution is extreme, with residents comparing it to “Wembley Stadium” due to the intensity of artificial lighting throughout the night. This, combined with 24/7 noise from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and engine idling, makes peaceful enjoyment of property impossible. Under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998, residents are entitled to respect for private and family life, which is currently being breached. The site’s location, 22 miles inland from the Port of Dover, is not only inefficient but also dangerous. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee and Dover Port Health Authority have both raised serious concerns that moving sanitary and phytosanitary checks to Sevington creates a legal and biosecurity risk. Goods entering the UK may not reach the facility at all, creating a gap in disease control and enforcement. The Dover Port Health Authority is even considering legal action against the government, citing the potential for breaches of food safety and biosecurity law. This casts serious doubt on the facility’s ability to lawfully serve its intended purpose. Public money has also been wasted on a poorly thought-out project. The site has already cost taxpayers an estimated £70 million, with significant criticism over financial oversight. Kent County Council auditors found that payments were made to contractors without clear evidence of completed work, raising issues of governance and public accountability. Furthermore, despite its enormous size—around 230 acres with capacity for 1,700 lorries—reports show large portions of the site sitting unused. Meanwhile, Ashford bears the daily cost of damage to roads, emergency callouts, increased insurance claims, and falling property values, with no clear economic benefit to the local population. Finally, safety risks are escalating. Numerous reports confirm that lorries routinely enter residential roads by mistake, ignoring “emergency vehicles only” signs, damaging verges and fences, and putting lives at risk. In December 2020, a man tragically died after becoming trapped between a lorry and a wall on Cheeseman’s Green Lane. There have also been incidents of lorry fires, excessive roadside litter, and even human waste left behind. These are not isolated events—they are systemic failures, made worse by a lack of enforcement by the council or central government. The planning inspector must now weigh these facts and determine whether the continued use of this facility is legally justifiable and in the public interest. Based on the evidence, it is not in Ashford's best interest and I therefore oppose and the council elected should also.