13 February 2015
Shoreham Port were delighted to welcome Minister Penny Mordaunt MP to the Port this week to see the progress being made on creating additional wharf space for cargo handling. Penny Mordaunt is training to be a Royal Navy reservist at King Alfred on Whale Island, is a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, and a member of the British Astronomical Association. She has been a Government Minister since July 2014, when she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
The Minister was joined by Ron Crank, Ian Parkes and Hayley Shepherd from Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership. The group met Shoreham Port’s Chief Executive, Rodney Lunn and Development Director, Peter Davies at Nautilus House, before embarking on a tug trip down the canal. The tug ride enabled the group to view the area, near the power station, where the development is taking place.
The creation of additional space will maintain the growth of the Port. It will provide a better mix of cargo to strengthen the financial position of the Port and reduce the heavy reliance on the importing of building materials. In addition, it will lower handling costs for local exporters and importers.
The long term aim is to increase total annual tonnage by 25% over the next five years and increase jobs on the Port by up to 500 between 2015 and 2025. To achieve these targets the Port has been awarded a grant from the Regional Growth Fund, a scheme that has been set up by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The grant of £103,200 will enable the Port to develop the new wharf for handling cargo as part of the wider development plans for the Port.
The grant will contribute towards the capital costs of creating the additional wharfage and purchasing new handling equipment. The proposed wharf is immediately north of the Power Station on non-productive land. The grant funding will allow the Port to respond to the new markets and handle new cargo not handled before, such as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), rockwool, wood pulp and specialist one-off items as well as existing cargoes such as timber.
Penny Mordaunt commented “Congratulations to the Port and everyone that put the bid together. The project is already creating jobs and cargoes are now waiting to come in. This will have an immediate impact, benefiting the wider economy and I have a great amount of confidence in Shoreham Port. I was delighted to have been able to see around the Port today.”
Peter Davies, Development Director at Shoreham Port added “Thank you to Penny, Ron, Ian and Hayley for taking the time to visit Shoreham today and see at first hand the area of land we are intending to develop. With support from the Government we will be able to increase tonnage volumes through the Port and in turn boost the local economy and offer additional job opportunities.”
