Dover Customs in costs row
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RE1GHT operators using the art of Dover are paying the dl costs of maintaining the ustoms facilities while pasners use the port free, says group of port businessmen. And this week Mike Llewel,n of Expedition Express arriers at Dover called for the king of national port rules .hich he claimed are unfair to eight operators using the ort.
The rules — Public Notice 12 of January 1977 — call for oerators to pay for the sertees of Customs officers at le port out of normal office ours, and Dover port works 1 hours a day.
Mr Llewellyn told CM: 3rowth of business in this 3rt has put a lot of pressure a everyone here; but the ustoms just don't move fast lough. We have had vehicles tking between four and 18 ours to clear Customs," he And on Friday tempers ared at the port when delays ere caused because a driver as caught with undeclared 3ods in his cab. Three drivers irned their vehicles across oth Customs lanes and ocked the terminal for three ours.
The men were protesting at ke time taken to clear Cus)ms and they have said that ley will have no hesitation in !peating the demonstration if tings at Dover are not speed1 up.
But Customs facilities at over have incurred the wrath = operators before now.
Earlier this year, fees paid ir the Customs officers' at-of-hours atteiluances were raised by 220 per cent to £4.90 an hour for a senior officer in attendance.
Mr Llewellyn said: "The way things are now we cannot tell how many officers work for us or for how long — we just get a bill for £2,000 or £3,000 a week," he said.
He suggested that as an alternative to the massive £600,000 a year raised from operators to pay for the Customs service a 10p levy should be made on all vehicles passing through the port. On hearing the news of the Dover Blockade one ownerdriver commented: "Good job too. It's about time something was done to get the whole operation speeded up." He had just spent 10 hours waiting for clearance.