Government tells UK traders that Ashford will be responsible for SPS checks at Sevington Border Control Post

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has written to British businesses who trade with Europe to explain that Ashford Borough Council will be the enforcement authority responsible for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks at Sevington Border Control Post. These measures ensure that food traded is safe to eat, and that animals and plants are free from pests and disease.

Defra has told traders that the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) delivers a risk-based, proportionate, and technologically advanced approach to import health controls. It recognises as paramount, the imperative to protect the UK’s biosecurity from harmful and potentially devastating pests and diseases.

Defra has told businesses: “In line with the implementation of the BTOM, the UK Government has carefully reviewed the provision of government-run BCP facilities in Kent to ensure that we protect the nation’s biosecurity, reduce import burdens for trade, while also managing operating costs. We are writing to notify you of the UK Government’s intention that SPS checks on goods arriving through the shorts straits should be undertaken at Sevington Inland Border Control Post (BCP).

“Sevington will provide, on one modern and purpose-built site, checks on the whole range of goods and live animals that arrive through both the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel. It is also ideally located to support the smooth flow of goods out of both points of entry without disrupting traffic flows out of the Port of Dover.

“The UK Government continues to work with the Kent authorities and all relevant stakeholders to ensure everything is in place for the operational requirements of the BTOM for the short straits.”