Portsmouth City Council is seeking compensation for its investment in a facility built to carry out border checks which now will not be required thanks to a new agreement with the EU.
Council leader Steve Pitt welcomed the Government’s new deal with the European Union, which aims to make it easier to import food and drink and reduce the need for border checks.
However, the council spent £6m of its budget building a new border control post (BCP) – which in the end cost over £23m to build – in the wake of the Brexit agreement.
‘It was hoped that we could recoup costs through charging for goods to be inspected, however if the BCP is no longer in use we will be looking for compensation from government to recover the shortfall,’ Cllr Pitt said.
The British Ports Association (BPA) has also called for compensation after the industry invested over £100m in new border control posts.
