The Leader of Dover District Council, Cllr Trevor Bartlett, has said there is dismay, desperation, and anger in Dover today as the town is gridlocked on day one of the big summer getaway.
“Hours of planning by the Kent Resilience Forum for the busiest weekend of the year for cross-Channel travel have gone out of the window within hours, with the Port of Dover calling a critical incident.
“Alongside the delays for tens of thousands of tourists, the local community is the biggest loser. Residents can’t get to work, children are stranded on school buses stuck in the mayhem, and businesses are suffering. Stagecoach has suspended bus services in Dover altogether.
“I wrote to the Kent Resilience Forum three weeks ago to express my concerns and to call for a more proactive approach to keep Dover clear. Those calls were not heeded.
“Serious questions need to be asked about how the emergency services would be able to respond to a major incident in Dover when it is completely gridlocked, and how this situation has been allowed to develop yet again?”