Business support package on table after port closure

The Welsh government is considering a package of support for businesses affected by the closure of Holyhead port.

The port was closed for more than a month in December after two ferries made contact with one of the berthing terminals.

The chair of the Senedd's economy committee, Andrew RT Davies, told Members of the Senedd (MSs) the incident involved two Irish ferries.

The port still has not fully reopened - with a further delay to the opening until at least 15 July - and concerns have been raised about the effect on local businesses.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru leader and MS for Ynys Mon, called for an "urgent support package" and told members some businesses had reported a "90% drop in trade" with "one hotel operator alone losing out on almost £15,000 worth of bookings overnight".

Ken Skates, secretary for transport and north Wales, said the local authority had submitted a funding request last week "for a package of support for Holyhead".

He said this was "being appraised as swiftly as possible by the cabinet secretary for economy, who is considering the proposals and will respond very soon".

Skates added the package contained two elements; "the potential of the cruise sector to benefit Holyhead" as well as "business support".

He said it would involve "partnering with Business Wales, expanding the Smart Towns Cymru initiative, various initiatives around marketing, communications, place-making and capacity funding for the council".

A committee report into the incident described the initial government response as "highly sluggish".

During a Senedd debate, economy committee chairman Andrew RT Davies said the road haulage association had told them "the first contact they had had with Welsh government was an email on Christmas Eve", nearly two weeks after the incident.

This, he said was in "sharp contrast" to the response from the Scottish government, who contacted the road haulage association on 11 December "to inform them that Holyhead was shut".

In response, ap Iorwerth said "businesses and travellers were hearing from the Welsh government that the port would be back in operation in days, and, then, from the Irish government, who warned that the port wouldn't reopen before Christmas".

Despite reports of the closure being due to bad weather, the damage that led to the closure occurred before Storm Darragh peaked, according to the port's owners, and Hannah Blythyn MS was critical of Irish Ferries for not engaging with the inquiry.

She said the committee heard that two of the firm's vessels were involved in incidents at berth three of the port on 6 and 7 December, but "Irish Ferries did not provide evidence to the committee, nor did they actually respond to any correspondence from the chair".

"This is, if I put it diplomatically, a matter of regret. I think, for me, that reluctance to engage raises concerns around accountability," she added.

Responding to the debate on behalf of the Welsh government, Skates said that "the actions that we took throughout the closure allowed for continuity as we worked together to find collective solutions".

He added: "We got vessels diverted into different Welsh ports, we worked alongside the UK government departments to open additional routes, we ensured that no roadworks were taking place around the key Welsh roads leading up to the ports, and we ensured that there was plenty of train capacity into our port towns."