Customs: Ashford

(asked on 10th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of light pollution from the Sevington inland border facility; and whether they plan to reduce the size of this facility given its levels of use.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 24th June 2021

The Department for Transport is aware of concerns raised about the level of lighting at Sevington IBF and has acted to minimise disturbance by turning off the lights in one of the contingency parking areas in the south-east of the site. The Department will be switching off the lighting in the second contingency parking area in the north-west of the site by the end of June. Additionally, we have commissioned a detailed lighting survey to better understand the issue. Once concluded, we will evaluate the findings and recommendations from the survey, and we’ll share an action plan with the immediate affected residents.

The Sevington site operates on a 24/7 basis with lighting required throughout the night to ensure the site operates safely.

There is no intention to reduce the physical size of the facility, but the business-as-usual operational capacity of the site will reduce. As part of this, the Department will be suspending the use of the two overflow areas from 1st July. However, these areas remain available for contingency traffic management measures should they be required by the Kent Resilience Forum.

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