Government blows £1.6m on two EMPTY FIELDS that have ‘NEVER’ been used in giant car park plan for ‘Brexit travel chaos’

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1 comment 1 Next THE government has blown an eye-watering £1.6million on empty fields intended as tourist overflows following a wave of Brexit-related travel chaos. Two sites were hastily earmarked in Kent to manage the flow of tourist traffic heading for Europe through the Port of Dover this summer. 6 The former Folkestone racecourse was made into a temporary overflow for tourist traffic Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 6 Local Trevor Mansfield said the project was a ‘total waste of money’ Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Advertisement It followed the introduction of the European Union ‘s Entry/Exit System (EES) which came into effect in April, but not without its problems.

Faulty border technology led to huge tailbacks at the port in the summer, prompting panicked transport ministers to set up emergency “overflow” parks. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. But when the queues ultimately never arrived, locals were left outraged by the taxpayer money squandered on the project and surrounding commotion.

Workers allegedly arrived at the Folkestone Racecourse near Hythe in July without warning, laying down temporary road surface and installing floodlights. Read more News TOT HORROR Mum pleads guilty to killing her three children by knifing them to death at home PARK HORROR Moment man is confronted after 'breaking goose's neck' in public park 6 The government is reported to have spent £1.6million on the park – which never got used Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 6 The Lydden Hill race circuit is another processing site near Dover Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 6 Residents said they were not warned about the project Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 6 The thoroughbred horse racing track closed in 2012 due to financial difficulties Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Advertisement Toilet blocks and catering vans were also hauled onto the site, with wire fencing erected around the park.

One pensioner, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s an absolute joke! What a complete white elephant! Not one holiday car went on that site! “They blocked off all the road and cut all the hedges out to create an entrance onto the site – even though there’s already an entrance 20 yards down the road. “We were worried there was going to be a lorry park there for the Channel Tunnel but when they told us it was for cars, I knew damned well no one would use it!

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And even if they did the road would’ve been gridlocked.” Advertisement Lydden Hill motor racing circuit near Dover was also designated as a contingency overflow. The total cost of preparing both sites – managed by the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum – came to £1.6million, according to a Freedom of Information request by KentOnline . Retired Trevor Mansfield, 66, who has overlooked the racecourse for 12 years, said locals were given “no warning” about the development and branded it a “total waste of money”.

He said: “This digger turned up and I asked a security [guard] what was happening and he said it was a private function. “There were toilet trailers and provision food wagons, floodlights and 24-hour security. Advertisement “Lorries and machines were going in all day long for two weeks but not a single car turned up.” He added that the operation took place during July, when the land was scorched and the hot exhausts posed a serious fire risk.

Suzy Bryant, 62, from Lympne, was walking past the site. She said: “It is a complete waste of money. “I wasn’t aware of the Lydden one until I saw it online but I knew about this one obviously. Advertisement “We used to have Operation Brock on the M20 and that was the supposed to be the help to ease backlogs but then they came up with this one. “You think they’ve spent all this money on this and it’s not been used.” The thoroughbred horse racing venue in Westenhanger closed permanently in 2012 due to financial difficulties.

A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesman said: “Data provided by travel operators clearly showed a significant risk of border disruption over the summer. “For tourist traffic, layover sites and passenger wellbeing locations were established in the summer as suitable areas made available to use as an alternative to remaining on the road during extreme periods of congestion.” Advertisement “Funding for work related to the layover site and passenger wellbeing locations at Lydden Hill Race Circuit and the Former Folkestone Racecourse was provided by UK Government and not Kent council taxpayers.”

RECOMMENDED STORIES A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We took decisive action to keep families’ summer holidays on track, including £10.5 million to prepare Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar for these new border checks. “Thanks to this and the Transport Secretary’s engagement with our EU partners, queues were kept to a minimum, and families got away fuss free.” 1 comment 1

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What we found (3)

The Sun's headline says two fields were 'NEVER' used and blames 'Brexit travel chaos', but no one in the article says either phrase, and only one site is described by witnesses. In its own voice the Sun says faulty technology caused huge tailbacks that prompted the parks, then reports that the queues never arrived and that the sites were set up on predicted risk.

Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“two EMPTY FIELDS that have ‘NEVER’ been used”
Why this matters
The headline puts 'NEVER' in quotation marks and applies it to both sites.
The impression it gives
A source said both fields were never used, and this is established for each site.
The context
No one in the article says 'never'. The witnesses speak only about the Folkestone racecourse. One resident says she was not even aware of the Lydden Hill site, and the article gives no evidence about whether that site was used.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“Not one holiday car went on that site”
- Elsewhere in the article“not a single car turned up”
- Elsewhere in the article“aware of the Lydden one until I saw it online”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Government spent £1.6m preparing two Kent overflow sites, residents say one was never used.
Makes a false claim
Serious
“Faulty border technology led to huge tailbacks at the port in the summer”
Why this matters
In its own voice and with no source, the Sun states that faulty technology caused huge tailbacks that prompted the overflow parks.
The impression it gives
Huge queues happened at Dover and the parks were a panicked reaction to them.
The context
The article later says the queues never arrived. The council says the sites were prepared because operators' data showed a risk of disruption, and the Department for Transport says queues were kept to a minimum. No source in the article backs huge tailbacks.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“when the queues ultimately never arrived”
- Elsewhere in the article“showed a significant risk of border disruption over the summer”
- Elsewhere in the article“queues were kept to a minimum”
Show it in the article
“following a wave of Brexit-related travel chaos”
Why this matters
The opening line tells the reader the fields followed a wave of travel chaos, in the outlet's voice.
The impression it gives
A wave of chaos had already happened before the sites were prepared.
The context
The council describes the sites as a precaution against a predicted risk, and the article itself says the expected queues did not come.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“as an alternative to remaining on the road during extreme periods of congestion”
- Elsewhere in the article“when the queues ultimately never arrived”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Kent authorities prepared two overflow sites after travel operators' data showed a risk of disruption at Dover when the EU's Entry/Exit System began; the expected queues did not come.
Uses a loaded word
Minor
“panicked transport ministers”
Why this matters
The Sun calls the ministers 'panicked' in its own voice.
The impression it gives
Ministers acted out of panic.
The context
No one in the article says ministers panicked. The only account of the decision is the council's, which says it acted on operators' data.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“Data provided by travel operators clearly showed”
Show it in the article
“locals were left outraged by the taxpayer money squandered”
Why this matters
The Sun states as its own verdict that the money was 'squandered' and that locals as a body were 'outraged'.
The impression it gives
The waste is established and the whole area is outraged.
The context
The article quotes three residents. Their verdicts are attributed later, but here the Sun adopts them as fact.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“branded it a “total waste of money””
Show it in the article

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Government blows £1.6m on two EMPTY FIELDS that have ‘NEVER’ been used in giant car park plan for ‘Brexit travel chaos’

Headline goes beyond the article

Makes a false claim

Uses a loaded word

More from The Sun