The Suitability of the Port of Dover as an Outlet for Its Developing Hinterland

Abstract

DOVER is the chief port, excluding London, for south-eastern England, which has hitherto been largely agricultural, while the chief importance of the town has been in its control of the shortest cross-Channel routes. Its future however will be affected by the developing East Kent coalfield which lies in its hinterland. Although some of the coal will be used locally and in London, a port will be needed to deal with the trade of the coalfield and of the anticipated industrial areas. The development of the region will be considerably affected by its possession of a suitable port; several outlets have been suggested, and of these Dover seems the most probable choice, although not wholly satisfactory. The hinterland of Dover is restricted by its nearness to London and by the ports around the coast. For some commodities it includes East and SouthWest Kent and East Sussex, but on the margins trade is taken by Newhaven and, to a smaller extent, by Shoreham and Littlehampton on the south coast, and by Rochester and the smaller port of Faversham on the north. Within East Kent itself, Dover loses some trade to other ports, of which Folkestone, the chief, surpassed it in some pre-war years and during the War; while Ramsgate has only a small trade and that of Sandwich is almost negligible. In the immediate hinterland of Dover great economic changes are taking place. It does not extend quite as far north as the lower Stour, since Sandwich has some local trade, and, north of the Stour, communications with Ramsgate are better than those with Dover. On the west, it is bounded by the eastern hills of the Nailbourne valley, which is served by Folkestone, and, on the south, it is limited by proximity to the latter. The unshared hinterland of Dover thus corresponds roughly with the East Kent coalfield, except in the Stour valley, including the Chislet mine. In this position Dover should be more favourably affected by the coalfield than any of the ports at present established; but considerable uncertainty prevails as to whether it is wholly suitable as the required outlet, and it may be found preferable to develop an entirely new one. The export of the coal from Dover, or from any other port, will be limited by its amount, quality, and price, the latter depending mainly upon local physical conditions, although also influenced by external factors. It is as yet impossible to estimate, with any degree of accuracy, the amount of coal available, but it is known to be sufficiently large to justify the establishment of new towns, new railways, and new port facilities on a considerable scale. Its quality varies from a good steam coal, such as that at Ripple, to a gas and manufacturing coal, as at Waldershare. Although much of it is not of as good a quality as was hoped at first, it is considered suitable for industries, and the steam coal will be invaluable for bunkering at Dover. Mining is very expensive in this region, where the mines are the deepest in the British Isles, owing to the great thickness of later strata and of the unproductive upper part of the coal measures. The cost is increased by the need of pumping water from the overlying strata, although this difficulty lessens towards the north-east, where the water-bearing