Issue details

Proposed decision:

To delegate to the Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport, in consultation with the Leader of KCC and the Cabinet Member for Highways, and Transport, authority to spend grant funding from the Secretary of State to deliver the construction works necessary to facilitate an Inland Border Facility at White Cliffs (subject to approval of the Special Development Order being promoted by the DFT and to be submitted for approval to MHCLG.).

Specifically approval is sought: 

To approve the acceptance of the Section 31 Grant monies award from the Department for Transport (DfT) to procure and manage works to deliver necessary construction works  at the White Cliffs site to be secured by DfT to support Government Transition arrangements.

This approval includes agreement to;

a) AGREE to accept the Grants under the terms and conditions required by Government; and

b) APPROVE the management and delivery of the necessary site works, including on site facilities)  as detailed in this report;

c)  CONFIRM that the projects will be delivered via KCC contractual arrangements that allow for the delivery of Highway Improvement Schemes in support of traffic management plans; and

d) DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport to, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport and the Leader, take any necessary actions to implement this decision, including but not limited to entering into relevant legal agreements and authorising spend from Grant monies.

Reason for the decision:

Inland Border Facilities and Border Control Posts are needed to support new trading arrangements with the EU arising from the UK’s departure from the EU.

Background:

Post transition, there is a need for Inland Border Facilities and Border Control Posts. The Department for Transport (DfT) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have identified White Cliffs as a potential site for an Inland Border Facility to help facilitate the flow of trade to assist with freight movements across the Short Straits. The proposal includes the provision of security measures and facilities to enable the checking of vehicles and goods entering and exiting the site along with local road mitigations arising from the project.

Options (other options considered but discarded):

The sites and infrastructure required have been identified by the DfT and HMRC

How the proposed decision meets the challenges in the Interim Strategic Plan

The Interim Strategic Plan recognises that Kent is the gateway to the UK and as such Transition will have a greater impact on Kent than other parts of the UK. A key element of our preparations is to work with local partners and National Government to ensure that appropriate infrastructure is in place to support new trading arrangements whilst also ensuring there is minimal disruption to local communities and businesses and impacts on existing infrastructure including the local road network is mitigated.