Council fears airfield Brexit checkpoint could be 'disaster'

One councillor has predicted the round-the-clock inland border facility could be "a bit of a disaster for the local area – a 24-hour truck fest".

HMRC has revealed its full proposals for the facility which is set to be able to handle a maximum of 53 lorries at any one time.

Monday's parish council meeting was told the checkpoint - which could become operational on January 1 - will be checking drivers' paperwork and the security of the vehicles which could be entering or leaving the country, with each check taking about two hours.

Councillors are especially concerned about how the number of HGVs will be monitored, with the prospect of many vehicles waiting on nearby roads before they access the site.

Parish council chairman Alan Buckley said: "This will be a 24-hour operation and a maximum of 53 HGVs on the site at any one time. That could be a rolling number all the way through (the 24 hours).

"You could have literally hundreds (of lorries) but they think 53 would be an optimum number.

"My main concern is because there is no overnight parking how do they (the lorry drivers) know not to turn up if they are at the 53 number?

"If they get turned away at the gate where do they park? "We could have HGVs scattered all over the place. How do they control this 53 number and the lorries don't run amok."

Mr Buckley also expressed concern over the routes the HGVs might take.

He said: "How are HMRC going to make sure that these vehicles stick with the route they have been given?"

He feared the HGV drivers could use the B181 through North Weald, and the B1393 through Epping and Thornwood if leaving the M25 at junction 26 at Waltham Abbey.

Cllr Andy Tyler added: "We could have a gridlock of vehicles. How are they going to control these drivers? If they can get round it, they (the drivers) will go any way they can."

The council will ask HMRC for its traffic impact survey and details of the signage proposed.

The council suggested HMRC could station a marshal at the roundabout by the council cemetery in Vicarage Lane to make sure the lorries don't go towards Vicarage Lane and Church Lane.

Cllr Andy Irvine, who asked why HMRC had not consulted more widely - including with households in Thornwood and Hastingwood - said: "It just turns the A414 into a giant car park. I don't know what we can do but it's a bit of a disaster for the local area.

"It blights Church Lane, the area around St Andrew's Church. It's a 24-hour truck fest."

Lorries will travel to the site via the M11 and junction 7 and the A414, or from the A12 at Chelmsford via the A414 (across the Four Wantz roundabout, Ongar) with vehicles entering the airfield off Rayley Lane and leaving via Merlin Way.

About 60 full-time staff, working in shifts, are expected to be on site with parking and welfare facilities provided.

The site will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A leaflet published by the HMRC, which has been delivered to some 1,500 households in the area, states: "The legislation specifies that the facilities will cease operation prior to December 31, 2025, although based on current planning the North Weald site is only expected to be needed for up to two years."

The parish council will also raise its concerns with Epping Forest District Council leader Chris Whitbread.

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