Craig Mackinlay, Member of Parliament for South Thanet, and fellow Kent MPs have today welcomed the announcement of £250m to relieve the pressure of Operation Stack with a preferred site at Stanford at junction 11 on the M20. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced the investment to the South East in his Autumn Statement. This follows a meeting with Kent MPs earlier this month at which Mr Mackinlay raised the frustration felt by constituents as they went about their daily lives.
The capital investment by the UK Government will provide up to £250m for a major new permanent lorry park to take pressure off Kent roads in the event of Operation Stack. The current emergency provision for relief is Manston Airport, which would have brought additional traffic, including heavy vehicles, along roads that would otherwise not have been used. Congratulating Mr Mackinlay and other Kent MPs on securing this extra money, the Chancellor said they made a compelling case in highlighting the need to do something about the pressures faced by the residents of Kent when Operation Stack was implemented.
Following the Autumn Statement, Mr Mackinlay also welcomed the announcement by the Chancellor that Tax Credit Cuts would be reversed. In the last few months the South Thanet MP has been contacted by a number of concerned constituents, worried about the impact these cuts would have on their household budgets. These fears were relayed back to the Chancellor, who has listened and understood the concerns of people across Kent and the UK.
Commenting on the welcome announcements Mr Mackinlay said, “Today’s Autumn Statement is good news for the people of South Thanet and Kent. The £250m secured will create a permanent solution to the problems experienced when Operation Stack is in play. I also welcome the decision by the Chancellor not to press ahead with Tax Credit Cuts. It is right that we should be aiming for a high wage, low tax economy, but I was concerned about the impact of the transition arrangements. The decision shows that the Chancellor listens to and heeds the concerns of people across the Country. Overall, the Statement confirms that that the UK is heading in the right direction. After all, without the foundations of a strong economy the sustainability of key public services would be cast into severe doubt”.