In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Scottish government has made plans to repurpose Stranraer Lorry Park and its former port. This plan has come about as a result of concerns about the flow of traffic between Northern Ireland and the UK if there is to be no deal. Plans like the one involving Stranraer have been made in parts of England for emergency lorry parking in the event of goods delays post-Brexit.
A brief history of Stranraer Port:
• Eight years ago Stranraer bid farewell to its ferries with Stena Line moving its operations up the coast to a new deep water port in order to cut costs and reduce crossing times to Northern Ireland;
• This move closed the town's ferry port which dates back about a hundred-fifty years;
• Since the closure there has been plans to rejuvenate Stranraer's waterfront area in order to make it a marine leisure destination;
• In order to increase visitor numbers, the town now hosts coastal rowing championships and an annual oyster festival.
If the most recent proposals put to Brussels were to go ahead, this would result in Northern Ireland abiding by to EU rules on the regulation of some goods – so potentially there would have to be checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney said: "In the event of increased traffic flows between Northern Ireland and Scotland, we are looking to repurpose the disused port at Stranraer to hold up to 300 HGVs to help deal with any potential disruption."
Plans have also been made to deal with disorder to food supplies and medicines shortages. This is important because about 3.5 million road goods vehicles travel from Britain to Europe each year.
There is no doubt that a no-deal outcome would have a substantial effect on jobs, investment and living standards across the UK. It is predicted the Scottish economy could fall into recession - and cause prices to rise by 5%, which would "push an additional 130,000 people into poverty."
A spokesman from the UK government said: "We will be ready for Brexit on 31 October with or without a deal.”