UK Government urged to pay compensation for Ynys Môn border control post
Plaid Cymru politicians have called on the UK Government to pay compensation after the development of a new border control post on Ynys Môn was halted.
The Welsh Government has announced its intention to halt the final commissioning and staffing of the Holyhead Border Control Post, following the announcement of a new trade agreement between the U.K. and the E.U earlier this month, having provided £7m to the development.
The facility, which was commissioned in March 2024 and developed on Welsh Government land in Parc Cybi, was set to conduct sanitary and phytosanitary checks on fresh produce arriving from the EU. However, following recent agreements between the UK and the EU which reduce trade barriers for food, plants, and animal products, the final commissioning and staffing of the facility have been delayed.
Frustration
The development of the Border Control Post caused some frustration locally on Ynys Môn as residents in Holyhead suffered an influx of HGVs parking across the town following the closure of a truck stop site to make way for the post-Brexit infrastructure.
In a joint statement, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, Llinos Medi MP, and Cllr Gary Pritchard said: “Today’s decision to halt the final commissioning and staffing of the Holyhead Border Control Post – which has cost the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds to develop – is reflective of the chaotic nature of the whole Brexit process.
“The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs has signalled that the Welsh Government is currently out of pocket to the tune of around seven million pounds for the BCP, despite Brexit being a reserved matter. And locally, we lost the popular ‘Truck Stop’ parking facility to make way for post-Brexit border infrastructure.
“We need assurances from Westminster that the Welsh Government will be compensated for its contribution to this project, and that any additional funding that’s required to repurpose the site for future use is paid for, in full, by the Treasury. We are clear that Holyhead – and Wales more widely – should not carry the cost for a hard Brexit that was made in London.”
Scrapped
Border checks on fruit and vegetable imports from EU were due to be introduced on 1 July but were scrapped as part of a new trade deal.
The produce sector has suggested that halting the plans will save businesses around £200 million of additional supply chain costs.
Bosses had warned that this could add to inflation, put pressure on food supply chains and threaten the future of businesses.
The new SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) deal with the EU will eliminate routine border checks for food exports and imports on certain products.
The latest relaxation in trade rules will take place until January 31 2027 as a “contingency measure”, according to officials.
This is the fourth time the border check plans have been pushed back, with the proposals previously set to come into force in January.
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Too right, the damage, how many in Holyhead voted for Brexit, no shortage elsewhere on the Island and chairty shops the length and breadth…
The ST D’s Hospice, Red Cross active pre-brexit propaganda from vindictive women, watch and report hives of Reform drones…
Chapter and Verse if you want…
The majority of the costs for this came from Westminster. They actually weren’t obliged to, but I think about £50m was set aside by Westminster for construction costs. WG allocated around £6.5m, mostly for preparatory site work. But it’s not ‘lost’ money as in the case of the construction, as the site could still be used for other things. WG also would have been expected to cover the costs of operating the facility. This is because WG has a legal and constitutional responsibility for public health and ports. So public health, animal/plant checks, port infrastructure and planning are all devolved… Read more »
It is all owned by Stena so Ynys Mon is just along for the ride…
Presumably WG could’ve charged a fee and turned the flow of freight into a nice little earner.
Yes, there would have been a common user charge. This would be paid to HMRC and received back in block grant
The block grant isn’t related to taxes sent to Whitehall, so the WG should levy an 20% administration charge on top otherwise the operating costs are coming from cash that could be used for health.
It’s not quite as simple ass I said, you’re right, but ultimately, there would be a little bit more funding in WG from this (relatively minor) income into HMRC.
As for the the ‘admin’, well it’s a devolved responsibility – public health and ports – mean WG doesn’t have a choice. They have to cover operating costs. And they can’t also just ‘add a levy’ – I direct you to the 1200-odd TCA agreement.
The Westminster Government covered ALL the costs at the sanitary and phytosanitary checkpoints between Scotland and the northern counties of Ireland (who are still within the EU single market) as well as the inland border check site in Kent. Why haven’t they picked up ALL the tab at Parc Cybi?
I don’t think that is quite true. DAERA (DEFRA in NI) did cover some costs.
But I’m pretty sure the important difference was, the NI protocol forced the UK government to cover the costs of SPS and other checks in NI, which isn’t the case in Wales.