A motorway lorry park which is at “critical levels” of capacity is set to double in size.

The Roadchef services, along the M20 near Maidstone and Hollingbourne, currently have a site which holds 55 lorries.

If plans submitted to the local authority are approved, this will increase to 106 and a small extension to the existing facilities to allow for an improved shower will be added.

The services also have a McDonald’s drive-thru, which opened in February 2023, and a Costa drive-thru, as well as an Esso petrol station and WH Smith.

A planning statement for the application revealed HGVs at the Maidstone services were parking in inappropriate locations at the site and nearby areas.

It continued: “This represents a safety risk due to the fact that every 24 hours HGV drivers are required by law to take an uninterrupted rest that lasts at least nine hours to comply with drivers’ hours rules.

“A lack of spaces was cited as one of the major concerns of drivers and transport operators, as it made planning ahead to stay within drivers’ hours rules very difficult.

“The poor provision of lorry parking, and substandard quality of facilities has also contributed towards the difficulties associated with the recruitment of new drivers, in particular women.

“This situation, which has come to the fore in recent years, has a major knock-on impact on supply chain efficiency.”

The closest residential properties to the site – which are also described as “sensitive receptors” when discussing the impact of noise – are just under 500m away

On the same plot of land is the Days Inn Hotel facility, which would be most affected by any noise.

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.

Use reference 24/502907/FULL for the relevant documents.

Last June, a man was found dead in a parked vehicle at the service station.

Police were called to the site just before 10am where a man in his 40s was pronounced dead. His death was not treated as suspicious.