“Ports are seeking compensation for the facilities, which were meant to carry out the government’s new post-Brexit
checks that have been put on hold until the end of next year.
Ports across the country are threatening the government with legal action unless compensation is paid to cover the millions of pounds they’ve spent building new border control posts.
The posts, due to be up and running this month, were designed to carry out post-Brexit physical checks on imports of plant and animal products from the EU – a measure that was to come into force from 1 July.
But they may now never be used as planned.
At the end of April the government announced the controls would be put on hold until at least the end of next year amid concerns about the cost of living crisis.
Portsmouth is the UK’s second busiest cross-Channel port, and every year a quarter of a million lorries pass through carrying goods to and from Europe.
Its £25m border control post was finished on time for the July deadline and is ready to go – but the state-of-the-art new facility is standing empty.
With a government review under way looking at using technology to create a digital border system for most goods in future, the port believes the building may end up largely redundant.
The border control post was originally designed to carry out 50,000 physical spot checks a year on goods like meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruit and timber.
The building includes sterile refrigerated units and freezers kept at -21C. It was due to be staffed by 67 officials, including vets, technical officers and port staff.
Unlike the country’s other ports, Portsmouth is owned by the local council – which uses the profits to help fund services.
While it received £17.1m from the government, it still had to borrow £7.8m to cover the total cost of constructing the facility. The ongoing operating costs are also causing a serious drain on resources.
“It’s costing a million pounds a year to run that was meant to be funded by the people using it – now the government says no one needs to use it. How am I meant to find a million-pound-a-year from that? It will have to come from council taxpayers here in Portsmouth,” said Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth City Council.