Newhaven Port granted £6.2m for new border facilities after Brexit transition

Newhaven Port is among the 54 ports across the country who requested funding worth more than £450 million from the government, after the Port Infrastructure Fund was opened for bids in October.

However as the fund was worth £200 million, many ports were left disappointed, including Dover, which received just £33,000.

Newhaven was successful in its bid and will receive a £6,215,839 grant to build facilities to handle new customs requirements under the Border Operating Model.

SEE ALSO: Maria Caulfield welcomes contract to secure Newhaven ferry

As Britain is leaving the Customs Union and Single Market, new procedures will come into place and infrastructure will be needed at ports, whether the Prime Minister Boris Johnson secures a negotiated agreement with the EU or not.

Newhaven Port. Photo: Allan Hutchings

Newhaven was one of 41 ports which were successful in their bid for funding, which totalled just over £194 million.

Shoreham Port also received £113, 931 from the fund.

The government said the grants have been targeted at ports which have space to build new border infrastructure on their sites, such as warehouses, control posts and traffic management systems.

MP for Lewes Maria Caulfield said the grant will “help the freight and ferry services at Newhaven for years to come”.

She said: “It is fantastic Newhaven Port is to receive over £6.2 million for help to improve its infrastructure, securing the future of the ferry and jobs.

“It is vital to our local economy and I am doing everything to back the Port. This is just another step in the right direction for the continued regeneration of Newhaven that I am championing.”

Earlier this year, fears were raised that Newhaven could become a “dumping ground” and a “Brexit frontier town” after permission was granted for a lorry park to be built in East Sussex.

READ MORE: Fears Newhaven could bear brunt of Brexit transport trouble

Councillors warned the lorry park could lead to “major delays” and “lorries parking all over Newhaven and Seaford”.

The UK left the EU on January 31, but has remained under many of its rules while negotiations on a trade deal continue.

MPs could be called back from their Christmas break to approve a deal if one is agreed.

However leaders from the European Parliament said they would need to see an agreement by Sunday for it to be signed off by the end of the year, while a spokesman for Boris Johnson said no deal is “the most likely outcome”.

If an agreement is not reached by December 31, the UK will have to trade with the EU under World Trade Organization rules, which could lead to higher prices on goods, as taxes could be introduced.