A DfT portal will be opened in about 10 days’ time which will be open for comments (good and bad) for only 14 days.  They will be considered and a response made public before a final decision is taken by the Secretary of State.

This will be our one and only opportunity to make it clear how we want the land between Highfield Lane and Blind Lane to be managed when construction is finished.  For the avoidance of doubt, they will not consider representations that the Border Facility should not be built, that ship sailed in June 2016 with the Brexit vote.  There is simply no point in asking; it will waste your time.

So, we will have 14 days to come up with a plan for what we want to see in the future.  My plan (after discussing with Council leader, KCC Councillor, Parish Chairmen et al - and "flicking the fly" with the DfT) is to ask for a wooded area (managed in a way very similar to how the Church Commissioners are managing Captains Wood) between Highfield Lane and Blind Lane.  This ticks some big and important boxes as to providing carbon offset and reduces nitrate run off from the farming activities previously on site.  If we have a "trim trail" used elsewhere in the borough it will deliver on health and wellbeing aspirations.

There will be cost implications and these need to be worked through but that is detail for another day, although KCC does have a budget allocation for tree planting.  If we are serious of getting the best from a bad lot we have to be clear and quick in what we want.