By Local Democracy Reporters Daniel Esson and Gabriel Morris
Some £3.55million originally slated for fishing upgrades has been redirected to the plan to reopen Ramsgate port.
Thanet District Council (TDC) says there was no choice but to reallocate the money due to government rules, but local fishermen say they feel “pushed to one side, forgotten about and ignored.”
The move has brought the total budget for the Port of Ramsgate infrastructure project to £7.2 million.
In 2021, TDC was granted almost £20 million from the government for local regeneration projects, of which £9 million was slated for the harbour.
The money came from the Levelling-Up Fund (LUF), which required local councils to develop plans for investment and regeneration projects, and present them to the national government as bids for a portion of the £4.8 billion levelling-up budget.
Two of the levelling-up projects in Ramsgate are the port works and upgrades to fishing facilities in the town.
The Port of Ramsgate in its current form was built from 1979, and ran passenger services from 1981 – 2013, though no ferries have departed from there since 2013 when TransEuropa went bankrupt.
The ambitious scheme is intended to improve the infrastructure surrounding the berths, where the vessels are moored, to allow it to come back into use for passenger services to Europe.
Some £9,615,100 had been earmarked for port projects, which include a Green Campus scheme, with £3.5 million of this for improved port infrastructure.
However, a report to councillors earlier this year said port infrastructure work is likely to need £10m, far exceeding the £3.5 allocated for site clearance and remediation; improved breakwater and new berthing infrastructure.
The Port Infrastructure project includes the refurbishment of berths 2 and 3, and land based works needed to support ro-ro ferry operations, including facilities for UK Border Force.
At a meeting of TDC’s cabinet last Thursday, members met to decide on rearranging the budget from the project, by using money intended for the fishing facilities plan.
Council leader Cllr Rick Everitt (Lab) told the room that a contract to operate two of the berths will “be tendered on the open market next month, and will offer a concession agreement and lease with the objective of reestablishing scheduled cross-channel services.”
Some £3.55m from the fishing facilities upgrade programme will be redirected to the port, funding works to improve the infrastructure, plus a further £570,000, previously set aside for an overnight accommodation project at the Sailors’ Church/Smack Boys Home.
£4.5million from the increased project budget is to be offered to the successful port concession operator as a grant payment, to contribute to the cost of the works required to make the port ready for concessionary use. The balance of the funding will be retained for works to be delivered by Thanet council. The lease would be for 20 years with an option to extend for a further five years as opposed to the original plan for a 10 year, plus extension, lease. The decision to offer a concession and lease, via an open tender process, was made in March 2023.
A report to councillors said: “Based on replacement of the current infrastructure (which may not be exactly what a successful bidder would require) and the necessary dredging, the current estimated cost of the necessary works for a 20+5 year concession is £16.92m including professional fees, risk allowance and contingencies. This compares with the £14.09m total cost for a 10+5 year concession option. The final costs will depend on the works carried out. Much of the infrastructure is under water and is difficult to assess.”
Fishing fleet plan
Originally the plan was to create a site where the local fishing fleet could unload, freeze, store and process their catch at the harbour.
However it was announced in January that under the rules of the LUF, the project would no longer be deliverable.
“It is not the case that this project [fishing] has been downgraded in order to transfer the money elsewhere,” Cllr Everitt stressed.
“The project as originally set out is not deliverable because it would not deliver the LUF outputs that we are accountable to the government for.
“We could not take on ongoing costs on behalf of the fishermen which the council has no ability to meet.
“That doesn’t mean to say we are not sympathetic, supportive and wish to help the fishing fleet, we do.”
A council finance officer added that under rules for LUF projects, it would have had to provide new jobs, and that the Thanet Fishermen’s Association (TFA) couldn’t commit to the project directly creating new jobs.
Former TFA chairman of 30 years, current committee member and Conservative district councillor John Nichols described the loss of funding as “extremely disappointing”, following the meeting.
“They’ve told us we’re going to get £100,000, which won’t even scratch the surface of the basic facilities,” the fisherman continued.
“We need a new electricity supply, new water supply, refrigeration, ice making facilities, security etc and that comes in at about £500,000 – £600,000.”
“That’s only 20% of the original allocation, I don’t think we’re asking for too much.”
He explained that a decade ago there were about 30 vessels in the local fishing fleet, but now there are only 13.
“We’re at an all time low at the moment there’s no two ways about that.
“We need these very basic facilities, we don’t need to be pushed to one side, forgotten about and ignored,” he said.
Mr Nichols is also sceptical of Ramsgate’s chances of being a passenger terminal, due to the size of newer boats.
He said the port’s heyday was during the bygone era of the booze cruise.
District councillor John Davis (Con), was also critical of the port plans, describing them as “ludicrous”, adding: “It’s not fit for modern vessels.”
The Cliffsend and Pegwell representative fears that a mere £100,000 “will get swallowed up in reports and planning, and nothing will ever happen.”
He added: “The community want to see the fishing fleet here, we want to see the fishing fleet here, there has to be a way.”
He also stressed that the original project could have created jobs, as it included a fish and chip shop.
However Cllr Everitt said: “There were eight separate projects in the original Levelling Up Fund bid for Ramsgate, which was put together at very short notice to meet the government’s timetable in 2021.
“Six of these projects, including the reopening of the Port of Ramsgate to a scheduled cross-Channel ferry service, are proceeding, and a decision was taken last week to tender for the works contracts for two of them.
“Proposals for the fishing facilities project have been subject to change from the fishing community, with the inevitable result of increased costs. There has been a reduction in the fleet since 2021 and the Thanet Fishermen’s Association was unable to reach a consensus on what should be included in the facility or commit to taking on the future operation of the building and ongoing management and maintenance costs.
“As a result it has been clear for some time that this project, along with the visitor accommodation one, would not be deliverable and a decision has now been taken to reallocate money from them to the port.
“However, the council will not spend the money as now proposed unless a port operator is secured through the imminent tender process for this. This will come back to Cabinet for a public decision.
“A smaller scale project to enhance fishing facilities at the harbour is still planned, and a small budget allocation will be reserved for this purpose, but this is limited by the fishing fleet’s ability to deliver against the outputs which were a condition of the original award.
“The council will continue to support the fishing industry in Ramsgate but we are not able to allocate a more significant amount without being able to demonstrate that it will provide value for money.”
