The Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 3) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 3) Order 2019 (S.I. 2019/1210) (“the 2019 Order”).

The Order omits:

(a) the ability to impose a requirement for lorry drivers and people travelling with them to have had a negative Covid-19 result as a condition of access to the coastbound carriageways of the motorway network in Kent;

(b) the ability to impose a requirement for a valid Kent Access Permit to have been issued in respect of a cross-Channel lorry for it to be used on the coastbound carriageway of motorways in Kent;

(c) the ability to require the production of border documents and display of a permit as a condition on access for cross-Channel lorries to the coastbound carriageway of the M20 Motorway between Junctions 9 and 13;

(d) the exception from the prohibition on cross-Channel lorries using the contraflow on the London-bound carriageway of the M20 between Junctions 8 and 9 for those lorries displaying a priority goods permit or a priority food supply permit;

(e) the ability to impose the requirement for cross-Channel lorries to display a permit before entering the M20 Motorway queueing area between Junctions 8 and 9 of the coastbound carriageway if the M26 Motorway is also being used as a queueing area;

(f) provisions relating to the issue of permits, other than the local haulier permit; and

(g) article 8 of the 2019 Order which provided that the 2019 Order would cease to have effect at the end of 31st October 2021. The 2019 Order therefore continues in force beyond that date.

It also provides that during a traffic restriction period, the use of cross-Channel lorries on the M2 Motorway between Junctions 5 and 7 is restricted.

The Order amends the procedure to make evidence from prescribed devices relating to breaches of certain restrictions more readily admissible in court in the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (1988 c. 53) to reflect the removal of restrictions imposed by the 2019 Order and the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 2) Order 2019(1).

The Order amends the Fixed Penalty Order 2000 (S.I. 2000/2792) to omit references to those restrictions which are being omitted from the 2019 Order by this Order, and which are being omitted from the Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 2) Order 2019 by a related instrument from the list of prescribed penalties.

A full Impact Assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it is not expected to have significant impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors. An Explanatory Memorandum has been prepared for this Order and is available alongside this instrument on the UK Legislation website www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1)

S.I. 2019/1394, as amended by S.I. 2020/1155 and S.I. 2021/988.