Overview
This website provides information on the Government’s inland border facilities which are providing customs and transit checks required from 1 January 2021.
Inland border facilities are Government (UK and devolved) sites where customs and document checks can take place away from port locations. A number of inland border facilities were made operational from 1 January 2021 and additional sites are currently being explored as required.
The Welsh Government, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are engaging with all relevant stakeholders to explain the need for inland border facilities at these locations.
The facilities will act as a Government office of departure (for outbound journeys) and/or a Government office of destination (for inbound journeys), where hauliers can start and end journeys when moving goods in and out of the UK, under the Common Transit Convention (CTC – also referred to as Transit). They can also be used for Admission Temporaire or Temporary Admission (ATA) Carnets, Transport International Routiers (TIR) Carnets and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) checks.
Details about where inland border facilities are located and how each site is proposed to operate are available to view via the menu on the left side of this website. Please visit the relevant page, which provides an opportunity for interested individuals and organisations to view information about each site, including updates regarding operations and construction.
If you have received a letter inviting you to comment on the Government’s (UK or devolved) proposals for an inland border facility, please visit the relevant page on the left side of this website to view information and submit comments.
Information for hauliers regarding attendance at an inland border facility is available to view here
Additional customs and transit checks are required from 1 January. Where there is no space at ports for new border infrastructure, the UK and devolved Governments have sought approval to build new inland border facilities where these checks and other activities will take place.
The UK Government announced its plans for new border infrastructure on 12 June 2020. You can view details of this announcement here
The UK Government’s Border Operating Model is a guide to inform users of the border and customs arrangements that will be in place post transition period. Full details of the Border Operating Model can be found here
You can find more information about the new rules which came into effect at the end of the UK’s transition period here
Process for approval
England
Approval for each identified inland border facility has been sought under the requirements of a Special Development Order (SDO).
An SDO was laid in Parliament on the 3 September 2020 (The Town and Country Planning (Border Facilities and Infrastructure) (EU Exit) (England) Special Development Order 2020) and came into force on 24 September.
The legislation provides for the granting of temporary approval to government departments to provide facilities in specified local authority areas for the stationing and processing of HGVs entering or leaving the UK. It also allows for the provision of associated temporary facilities and infrastructure. The legislation specifies that the facilities will cease operation prior to 31 December 2025.
All stakeholders identified within the SDO have been engaged in the process.
The 2020 SDO includes four sections and can be viewed here
Wales
Approval for each site will be sought through the requirements of a Special Development Order (SDO) under section 59(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Following the conclusion of the engagement period for each site, the Welsh Government will undertake necessary technical assessments to support the application. A ministerial decision will be made on the proposal for each site based on a review of the supporting evidence provided. If consent is obtained by the relevant Welsh minister for a site, a SDO would be laid before the Senedd to permit and enable the proposed development. The legislation would provide for the granting of approval to the Welsh Government to provide facilities for the stationing and processing of HGVs entering or leaving the UK. It would also allow for the provision of associated facilities and infrastructure.
This website is based on a concept and original platform developed in association with TfL and Crossrail 2.