Ports across England given £10m to prepare for Brexit

Sixteen ports across England will receive a share of a £10m funding pot to help their preparations for Brexit on 31 October.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed the successful bidders of the £10m Port Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity (PIRC) competition, which offers ports up to £1m each to deliver important infrastructure upgrades.

This could include creating more space for HGV parking and container storage as well as improving access for vehicles to help keep traffic and trade flowing smoothly across the border.

The full list of successful bidders for the PIRC competition, divided by region, is:

East Anglia:

• Felixstowe
• Harwich

South Coast:

• Southampton
• Portsmouth International
• Plymouth
• Poole
• Newhaven

North East:

• Immingham
• Hull
• Teesport

North West:

• Heysham
• Liverpool

West: Bristol

South East:

• Sheerness
• London Gateway
• Dover

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “Our maritime ports are fundamental not only to our success as a global trading nation but also to people’s everyday lives, bringing vital goods into the country. This timely investment will support ports across the country in their work to boost capacity and efficiency, ensuring they’re ready for Brexit and a successful future.”

Alongside the £10m PIRC fund, the DfT has provided £5m to Local Resilience Forums (LRF) – partnerships made up of representatives from local public services, including the emergency services - in areas with key freight ports to help them build infrastructure improvements and ensure traffic continues to flow smoothly.

A further £15m will go towards the development of longer-term projects to boost road and rail links to ports and ensure more freight can get where it needs to be faster.

The combined £30m funding comes as part of a £2.1bn government investment to step-up the UK’s preparations for leaving the EU.