The Department of Transport announced the sixteen ports in England that will receive a multimillion-pound funding pot to boost their preparations for Brexit. The £10 million Port Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity (PIRC) competition offers up to £1 million to each port.
The fund comes as part of a £30 million government scheme to bolster ports across England and ensure they continue to operate efficiently post-Brexit. The £30 million funding comes as part of a £2.1 billion government investment to step-up the UK’s preparations for leaving the EU.
The bidders for the PIRC competition divided by region
East Anglia
- Felixstowe
- Harwich
South Coast
- Southampton
- Portsmouth International
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Newhaven
North East
- Immingham
- Hull
- Teesport
North West
- Heysham
- Liverpool
West
- Bristol
South East
- Sheerness
- London Gateway
- Dover
The funding could help the ports build additional space for HGV parking and container storage as well as improving access for vehicles to help keep traffic and trade flowing smoothly across the border.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps commented
This timely investment will support ports across the country in their work to boost capacity and efficiency, ensuring they’re ready for Brexit and a successful future.
Along with the £10 million funding, a further £15 million will go towards the development of longer-term projects to boost road and rail links to ports and ensure more freight can get where it needs to be faster.
In light of the funding, the British Ports Association applauded the grant, with Chief Executive, Richard Ballantyne stating
We welcome the funding but note that some English ports have missed out as well as those in other parts of the UK…British ports have been working closely with the UK Government for the last three years on a range of Brexit scenarios. The industry is as ready as it can be for a ‘no deal’ although it is clear that much of the focus recently has been about mitigating disruption at certain ports, not avoiding it.
In August, the UK announced additional funds to better-support the ports in light of the approaching Brexit; Tim Morris, chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group although welcomed the fund, added that there must be a realism regarding how much change can be achieved between now and the end of October.
Concluding, a recent BPA survey revealed that ports are strong, resilient and performing well under the current economic climate.