MPs have joined the fight to get government support to prepare Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s for a no deal Brexit.
At a briefing for politicians from across the region it was pledged that local MPs would speak to government ministers to ensure full awareness of the risks of traffic congestion impacting on the Solent area.
Local MPs will now be asking government to make more information available along with extra funding.
This is in addition to previous requests to the Ministry of Defence to assist with preparations by allowing land it owns to be used as a holding space for lorries and council Leaders requesting support from Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling, as reported by Island Echo on Thursday.
As well as the potential impact a no deal Brexit could have on Portsmouth International Port and the need for strategic management of the M27 and A3M corridor road network, concerns were aired about the knock-on effect for goods travelling to the Isle of Wight and Channel Islands.
MPs and council leaders received a briefing on the latest contingency plans being developed by the area’s Local Resilience Forum (LRF) which is made up of a range of organisations including councils and emergency services.
Currently Portsmouth International Port transports up to 500 lorries a day abroad; if traffic diverts from other ports this will increase significantly. Under a no deal Brexit delays are likely if lorries need extra customs clearance before embarking on a ferry; whereas currently this is not required for vehicles travelling to EU countries. The distance between the freight check-in desk at Portsmouth International Port and the beginning of the motorway is just 13 lorry lengths, so a queue of 14 lorries or more would mean queuing traffic on the motorway.
Any delays to vessels leaving European ports may also have a similar effect with congestion from vehicles waiting to board late ships. To mitigate this the LRF is trying to find locations to hold lorries and avoid traffic problems.
