The future of a historic Grade I-listed church has been thrown into doubt after the Government bought neighbouring land and are converting it into a Brexit lorry park.
On surrounding land near medieval St Mary’s Church, in Sevington, Kent, construction is well underway for a large customs clearance depot with room for up to 2,000 lorries.
The site is intended for customs checks, and could also be a ‘temporary traffic management facility’ – a car park – for lorries if there are border delays, the government says.
The 27-acre field is one of 10 sites around the country earmarked for potential border infrastructure, under powers the government has given itself to buy and build without consulting local authorities or residents first.
Work is already underway at other sites identified for border checkpoints in Ashford, Birmingham, Thames Gateway, Ebbsfleet, North Weald, Warrington.
Meanwhile, sites in Holyhead, South Wales and Dover have been identified but work is yet to start.
A view of the thirteenth century St. Mary’s Church in Sevington, Ashford, Kent, as the government develops a 27-acre site near the church into a post-Brexit lorry park while efforts continue to strike a post-Brexit trade deal before December 31
The church had made plans to renovate the building and develop it into a community hub with cash promised by AXA who previously owned the neighbouring land before it was sold to the Government earlier this year meaning plans are now stalled
Ministers gave themselves powers to build in 29 local authorities across the country, stretching the likes of Devon and Kent and Devon in the South, to Liverpool and Hull in the North.
There are no plans to build in the other 19 sites not currently set out by the Government at this stage.
For St Mary’s Church, separated from the construction site by only a hedge, the sale of the land to the Government means plans to develop the building into a community hub have been put on hold.
According to the Church Times, St Mary’s was due to receive £450,000 towards a reordering that would convert the building into a community hub.
Pictured: A map showing ten of the Government’s proposed Brexit lorry sites. Sevington Ashford is also required for July 2021
The neighbouring land was owned by AXA and they had offered the cash as part of plans to build a warehouse complex on the site before they sold it to the Government earlier this year.
A spokeswoman for Canterbury diocese told the Church Times: ‘As part of their ownership of the land, the Government have taken on all of the obligations that apply to this ownership when it was transferred from AXA.’
However, she said that no detailed discussions had taken place and added: ‘Nor is anything yet confirmed with regards to taking forward our long-planned renovation work.’
The renovation plans included a new car park, new floors and tiling, a kitchen, improved lighting and heating, and repairs to the roof, timbers, and stonework.
One of Government’s preferred sites for its new Inland Border Facilities is the existing facility at Thames Gateway, Thurrock
Plans for a post-Brexit border checkpoint at North Weald Airfield (pictured) were approved last week. The site is expected to provide space for up to 53 HGVs and the facility will operate 24 hours a day with checks expected to last two hours
The second site in Ashford is proposed to be developed at Waterbrook Park, an existing lorry park which the Government wants to convert into an Inland Border Facility where customs checks can be carried out after Brexit deadline in 2021
The two villages of Sevington and Mersham, which are served by St Mary’s Church, are 15 miles from the Channel Tunnel and 20 miles from the UK´s biggest ferry port at Dover.
Between them, the two routes carry 4 million trucks a year, filled with food and all manner of other essential items.
Those goods moved back and forth freely while Britain was part of the EU´s single market and customs union.
The UK left the bloc´s political structures in January, and will make an economic break when a transition period ends Dec. 31.
That means Britain must erect a customs border with the 27-nation EU, its biggest trading partner.
Birmingham Airport’s carpark 6 has also been identified for a facility post-Brexit and will have space for up to 200 HGVs
The existing coronavirus test centre at Ebbsfleet International Railway station is expected to be converted into a post-Brexit lorry park with space for 256 HGVs when the new year begins as the Government prepares to leave the European Union
The former Shearings coach hub in Warrington has been identified as a site for a new Inland Border Facility in post-Brexit plan
The Government has permission to build lorry parks in 29 areas of England in order to cope with potential post-Brexit border trading chaos as hopes of a UK-EU free trade deal are repeatedly dashed.
Locals will not have a say in the construction of the sites which are being built in Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Solihull, Kent, Essex, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
The sites have been planned because of fears that truck drivers will face long delays to enter the EU.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government has been reluctant to disclose details of its border plans.
But in September, it admitted its ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ involved queues of ‘7,000 port-bound trucks in Kent and associated maximum delays of up to two days.’
The government´s plans for limiting the disruption include converting parts of the London-bound side of M20 motorway into a temporary car park for queuing lorries, and imposing a ‘Kent access pass’ – essentially a passport that lorry drivers heading for the EU must have to enter Kent from other parts of Britain.