UK government ministers set to rethink Holyhead port funding snub

The Welsh Secretary has confirmed that ministers will review a decision to leave the Holyhead to Dublin route out of a £17m funding package for Irish Sea ports.

Friday’s announcement that Wales’ busiest port would be left out of the support package to maintain “critical routes” between Britain and Northern Ireland during the coronavirus pandemic was slammed locally.

On Monday, questioning the Chancellor, Arfon MP Hywel Williams accused the UK Government of “waiting for Holyhead Port to fail before stepping in”.

But speaking on Tuesday, the Welsh Secretary confirmed that the earlier decision is now under review after admitting that it “probably didn’t quite pan out in the way that the textbook said it might”.

After being pushed by Virginia Crosbie and Stephen Crabb to elaborate on the port investment decision, and the failure to include Holyhead, Simon Hart told a virtual meeting of the Welsh Affairs Committee: “This has come up a couple of times, as you’d expect, recently we had a fairly detailed conversation with Ken Skates, and with Kelly Tolhurst, the relevant UK minister.

“UK Government is reviewing and looking at the situation, in the context of respecting the role of Welsh Government and indeed our colleagues across the water as well.

“I think this is one of those areas which probably didn’t quite pan out in the way that the textbook said it might.

“It is one of those areas, but we’re back on track in terms of relationship between UK Government and Welsh Government, and should be in a better position probably to follow this up with some helpful information to the Committee, I would hope, within probably a week or two rather than days.”

On the original decision to exclude the Holyhead to Dublin route,  a spokesperson for the UK Government said that the the route is currently  “running effectively” but the situation is being continually monitored.

But the leader of Anglesey Council, among others, had expressed disappointment at the snub, having originally written to UK Government ministers urging support for the port which missed out to the benefit of the Warrenpoint to Heysham, Belfast to Liverpool, Cairnryan and Heysham and Larne to Cairnryan routes.

“We’re extremely disappointed that, despite our pleas, ferry operators at Holyhead Port have been left out of this support package by the UK Government,” said Cllr Llinos Medi.

“As the UK’s second busiest roll on/roll off port, Holyhead’s importance to Wales and the UK cannot be underestimated; with in excess of a million vehicle movements a year.

“Holyhead Port also sustains more than 400 jobs and many hundreds more via its supply chain.”

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter