Airfield could become lorry park to cope with post-Brexit delays

A former military airfield could be turned into an emergency lorry park to cope with post-Brexit delays.

Talks over transforming the Castle Kennedy Airfield in Dumfries and Galloway so it can be used to park lorries waiting to move goods to Northern Ireland are ongoing.

However, Transport Scotland, who have agreed to a deal in principle, say a significant increase in traffic is not expected.

A spokesperson said: “While we still need clarity from the UK Government on the terms of exit, including the requirements for checks on goods moving from GB to NI, at this stage we do not expect a significant increase in traffic or delays at Cairnryan.

“Nevertheless we have been engaging with ferry operators who have assured us that they have capacity to cover increased demand on the Cairnryan/Larne routes.

“We have also worked with local resilience partners to develop a contingency plan in case of traffic disruption at Cairnryan and are now moving to test that plan.”

Operation Overflow is a contingency plan for Dumfries and Galloway Local Resilience Partnership (LRP) and has been developed with partner organisations in planning for EU Exit.

It aims to provide mitigation for a situation where one or both of the Irish Sea ferry companies operating from the Cairnryan ports suffer an increase in demand such that ferry companies are unable to contain the impact of that disruption within their respective ports.

Transport Scotland has an agreement in principle with Stair Estates for use of Castle Kennedy Airfield.