The district council could be taking over the task of building a £4 million multi-storey car park at Dover Priory.

Those are the words of MP Charlie Elphicke who has slammed Network Rail for “dithering” with the design stage of the plans.

The Tory said that he had been in talks with ministers about the delay.

He told the Mercury: “I have been meeting ministers about this matter for Network Rail to get on with it.

“If Network Rail won’t do it then other organisations like the district council can step in and I have spoken to the district council about it.

“We very much need it to be built for the economic expansion – I am extremely disappointed with the way they have handled this project.”

An application is expected to be lodged to the district council in April for the car park, which would have 500 spaces.

The district council has highlighted the issue of parking at Dover Priory in its Land Allocations Local Plan (LALP).

The report reads: “Car parking at the railway station is extremely restricted which means that the station is not fully capitalising on the benefits of the HS1 (high speed) train service.

'Car parking at the railway station is extremely restricted which means that the station is not fully capitalising on the benefits of the HS1 (high speed) train service.' - LALP report

“People wishing to park and use the HS1 service are placing additional pressure on the nearby residential roads.

“Some commuters are driving to railway stations that are served by HS1 outside of the district that have larger car parking facilities.

“In order to address this important issue, land immediately to the west of the railway station has been identified as a potential location for a car park to serve HS1 and the town centre.”

The report also said there was an opportunity to incorporate supporting retail development which would also benefit residents.

The Mercury has tried on several occasions to contact Network Rail, but no reply has been received.

A district council spokesman said: “We are continuing to discuss options with Network Rail.”