Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,992
I seem to remember a few border melt downs ago that one of the problems was that the PAF were unable to man all the control points they already had.
All to do with them insisting on traveling through the Tunnel to get stuck in the very queue they were supposed to be clearing?
I'm not sure how £45 million to buy extra desks and a couple of traffic cones is going too help!
"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
victor matcham- Registered: 5 Oct 2021
- Posts: 1,071
HAD TO GO TO THE W.H. TODAY IT WAS NO FUN, WHEN WE GOT THERE THERE WAS NO ROOM IN THE CAR PARKS BECAUSE OF AL THE CARS THEY CLOSED ALL THE CARPARKS IT WAS CHAOS, I AM DISABLED AND NO ROOM AND I HAD TO WALK OVER 30MINS STOPPING AFTER A FEW YARDS
THENGOAFE
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Button wrote:Prevention rather than cure, I guess: "£45m [levelling-up money] to help the Port of Dover operate more efficiently, including adding more border control points." Or as Mrs E puts it: "help Keep Dover Clear". Not an insignificant sum when you consider nearly £27m buys a roll-on, roll-off ferry for Fair Isle in Shetland and £50m goes on Crossrail Cardiff - a new train line between Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Central Station.
It's a Brexit bonus of a kind, I suppose. Just happens to be one that costs us yet more money.
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Captain Haddock wrote:I seem to remember a few border melt downs ago that one of the problems was that the PAF were unable to man all the control points they already had.
All to do with them insisting on traveling through the Tunnel to get stuck in the very queue they were supposed to be clearing?
I'm not sure how £45 million to buy extra desks and a couple of traffic cones is going too help!
I regulary worked with Border Force senior managers who were more than happy to use the threat of disruption caused by reduced manning in Coquelles to press for enhanced data flows from the French systems. The difference now is that they really don't care quite as much.
Karlos- Location: Dover
- Registered: 1 Oct 2012
- Posts: 2,495
Apparently Barton Road is closed because of a fire.
Traffic is backed up on the A2 from Guston back to Whitfield.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,884
Just left there
Really bad fire
Over six fire engines
Road closed that part
Hope every safe looks a bad fire still smoking
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,832
I remember there was a very large nasty fire along there a few years ago.
I think the buses are going up Melborne to Whitfield and coming into town via Connaught Hill.
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Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,884
It's understood to have h a d a police raid few weeks earlier
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
TheThinWhiteDuke- Registered: 7 Jul 2016
- Posts: 346
Given the reports, did they manage to avoid gridlocking the town this time then?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65143093
I was supposed to be visiting Ashford today, but put it off as reports that Roundhill Tunnel had been closed (still can't work out the sense of doing that).
Would I have been OK getting back? How about tomorrow? Probably a good thing I didn't go yesterday I'm guessing..
Button
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,039
You'll be interested to learn that it was due to "the incompetence of this shoddy Conservative Government". At least it was according to Mike Tapp.
(Not my real name.)
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
The government knew, as did anyone with any knowledge of the cross channel market, that the end of freedom of movement would entail a radically different set of requirements in terms of passport checks. Much better to pretend that wasn't the case than to prepare for it?
TheThinWhiteDuke and Matey like this
Dover Pilot- Registered: 28 Jul 2018
- Posts: 345
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,992
'Only' three lanes unmanned this afternoon
Which is at least a lot better than this morning
"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,039
ray hutstone wrote:The government knew, as did anyone with any knowledge of the cross channel market, that the end of freedom of movement would entail a radically different set of requirements in terms of passport checks. Much better to pretend that wasn't the case than to prepare for it?
Preparedness would certainly have been good, but who should've a) done and b) funded the preparations for outbound pax controls?
(Not my real name.)
TheThinWhiteDuke- Registered: 7 Jul 2016
- Posts: 346
Button wrote:Preparedness would certainly have been good...
But there was no need to prepare for anything was there? It was just Project Fear nonsense wasn't it?
To paraphrase Donald Tusk, there's a special place in hell for those who promoted this idea without any plan whatsoever on how it could be carried out.
ray hutstone likes this
Button- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,039
I don't disagree (nor really with Ray at #751) and it's fair to say that HMG declined to fund the outbound controls plaza that will now go ahead thanks to the Levelling Up monies. On the other hand, I'd be amazed if PoD hadn't timed coach dwelltimes at PAF controls since passport stamping came in, and so the question is: was it wise to let a holiday peak quart try to get into the current pint bottleneck? To put it another way (given that the volume of coaches this time is said to have exceeded port expectations), should there be a ceiling on bookings to tailor demand to supply?
Reginald Barrington likes this
(Not my real name.)
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,992
We have the technology to upload passport and biometrics pre travel in both directions to deliver seamless / drive through borders for EES ETIAS & ETA. Just needs political will.
See Issue 9 here
https://www.ibmata.org/border-management-today/"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
ray hutstone- Registered: 1 Apr 2018
- Posts: 2,158
Button wrote:I don't disagree (nor really with Ray at #751) and it's fair to say that HMG declined to fund the outbound controls plaza that will now go ahead thanks to the Levelling Up monies. On the other hand, I'd be amazed if PoD hadn't timed coach dwelltimes at PAF controls since passport stamping came in, and so the question is: was it wise to let a holiday peak quart try to get into the current pint bottleneck? To put it another way (given that the volume of coaches this time is said to have exceeded port expectations), should there be a ceiling on bookings to tailor demand to supply?
I'm told that P&O in particular were guilty of excessive over-booking in order to compensate for higher than expected no-shows. Management error.
#757 The passport office is unable to provide a decent service at the moment. Between them and the great general public, don't expect this to happen anytime soon!
Neil Moors- Registered: 3 Feb 2016
- Posts: 1,298
I think I've mentioned this before, but why not just abandon the juxtaposed border checks? That way the problem becomes on French soil rather than UK. What's to be gained by having them now we are not in the EU?
Dover Pilot- Registered: 28 Jul 2018
- Posts: 345
Captain Haddock wrote:We have the technology to upload passport and biometrics pre travel in both directions to deliver seamless / drive through borders for EES ETIAS & ETA. Just needs political will.
See Issue 9 here
https://www.ibmata.org/border-management-today/
Unfortunately we don't hence the huge delays when returning to UK airports that have installed the self scan machines.
The shiny new British brexit biometric passports are out of sync with Border Force systems - should be rectified in about two years hopefully. In the meantime be prepared for that all too often "Seek Assistance" message.
"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
