ASHFORD MP CALLS FOR BROCK NOT TO BE REINSTATED OVER EASTER
- 21/03/2025
- Posted by: Sojan Joseph MP
- Category: Press Releases
Sojan Joseph, the Member of Parliament for Ashford, Hawkinge and the Villages, is calling on Kent County Council not to reinstate Operation Brock over the Easter holidays.
“I am urging Kent County Council not to reinstate Brock. This causes a massive amount of inconvenience to my constituents and given the increased congestion around Ashford at the current time, I would urge them not to reinstate Brock. I had been previously reassured that Operation Brock would only be used as an emergency measure, yet this – for the second time in recent months it is being used pre-emptively.Looking at the available numbers between 2017 to 2019 – before Operation Brock was first deployed. There were more road users then, and we didn’t need emergency measures. If the Port of Dover and The Channel Tunnel can operate like ‘business as usual’, we should not need to reinstate the contraflow.I welcome the Government’s announcement regarding working towards a new long-term, alternative strategy to Operation Brock and I will continue to work with all groups to resolve the issue permanently. I would therefore like to ask the Council to not reinstate it over Easter.”
Notes to Editors:
December Figures for Port of Dover Crossings
2024 2023 2022
Passengers – 675,925 654,274 720,241
Cars – 130,355 120,927 136,687
Coaches – 5,455 4,917 4,420
Freight – 149,830 154,230 154,407
November Figures for Port of Dover Crossings
2024 2023 2022
Passengers – 495,541 435,824 493,581
Cars – 77,838 62,401 78,295
Coaches – 4,406 3,233 2,861
Freight – 191,296 196,690 193,939
Annual Traffic Statistics at the Port of Dover
Year Passengers Coaches Haulage Vehicles
2017- 11,723,411 79,638 2,601,162
2018- 11,783,869 78,129 2,497,804
2019- 10,863,262 73,856 2,397,297
2020- 4,348,478 11,777 2,268,525
2021- 3,102,599 4,476 2,149,595
2022 – 6,559,169 36,067 1,997,458
2023- 8,866,378 36,067 2,150,932
Annual Average daily flow J8 M20
Year Pedal Motorcycles Cars/ Coaches Light Heavy All
Bikes Taxis Buses Haulage Haulage
2023 0 393 46005 261 13824 10053 70535
2022 0 404 44762 249 13824 10053 70535
2021 0 206 44762 31 14608 10200 69002
2020 0 202 36919 31 12498 10078 59726
2019 0 621 49421 251 12891 9552 72737
2018 0 412 56557 170 14028 11387 82554
2017 0 414 57044 169 13598 13598 82445
Site number: 99203 – Junction 8 M20
ENDS
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