I think it will, with the obvious fact that its the closest county to the EU and a major transport artery to continental Europe. Of course, there is the argument that Northern Ireland might be the worst area affected.
I do think that a lot of the concerns over Brexit may be exaggerated, especially as no one really knows what the impact will be. I do hope there will be few issues, but it seems likely there could be some serious disruption particularly in Kent, for various reasons......
Transport
Fun fact: 59% of people in Kent voted to Leave.
I do think that a lot of the concerns over Brexit may be exaggerated, especially as no one really knows what the impact will be. I do hope there will be few issues, but it seems likely there could be some serious disruption particularly in Kent, for various reasons......
Transport
- Most talked about is the potential traffic congestion caused by lorries queuing at Folkestone and Dover, particularly along the M20/A20. But there will also be the addition of extra lorry traffic towards Manston Airport, which is almost the other side of Kent compared to the south coast. I doubt all lorries will follow official diversions, so I can imagine the A28 between Ashford (where the M20 passes) and Thanet could be clogged up - this road is mostly single carriageway and goes through Canterbury city centre. Traffic generally flows fairly well (in comparison to my native Essex, for example), but if ever there is an incident in Canterbury, Ashford, Dover or Thanet, it can cause serious congestion - thats before Brexit.
- Stagecoach are worried about the potential traffic with Brexit. They are already struggling to operate a decent service in Ashford and Dover due to traffic congestion. The last few months has been particularly bad in Ashford - some of the M20 preparations for Brexit are already causing major traffic there. How will it be possible to operate anything near a decent service in Ashford and Dover if the traffic will be as bad as predicted?
- There is still some uncertainty with Eurostar after Brexit. I do hope that things will still run smoothly for them afterwards. I'm not sure there will be a drop in passengers, except for maybe the Brussels trains. Ashford seems under-utlised as it is, so I hope passenger numbers will not drop here to make it unviable. Disruptions on Eurostar could have a knock-on effect with the domestic high speed trains too.
- There is also environmental issues with the amount of lorries which could be clogging up the roads. Any issues on the M20 causes issues on many local roads passing through towns and villages.
- KCC have already given schools advice and warnings about issues with Brexit. If traffic will be as bad as predicted, teachers will have difficulty getting to work on time, and parents will have problems getting their children to school. A lot of the KCC warnings are 'worst case scenario' stuff, but still quite concerning. Kent also has a large number of children travelling long distances to reach school, so it could be diffcult getting them to school if they have to go anywhere near Ashford or the M20 - for example there are school buses from Ashford to Canterbury
- Tourism is a big part of the Kent economy. Pretty much everyday in Canterbury, there are coach loads of French/Belgian kids on school trips - this is not something I see often in other parts of the country. Cars from the continent are a common sight. Will these people want to come to Kent for a day trip if it means getting stuck for hours in traffic? Its not just international visitors, the predicted traffic would put locals off visiting Dover Castle, for example.
- Kent still has a large amount of orchards, hop fields, and various other agricultural fields. Large groups of Eastern European seasonal workers are often seen at harvest time, helping to gather the crops. It would be a big concern if things were made difficult for them to come to work here, especially if they can just go and work in another European country. Fruit picking etc is certainly not a job that the Eastern Europeans have 'stolen' from us - will local workers be able to replace all of the migrant workers? I seriously doubt it - there will certainly be some who would do that job, but I doubt farms would find the same numbers of 'native' workers.
Fun fact: 59% of people in Kent voted to Leave.
