Dover People's Port Trust March 2013

This letter, sent by the Department for Transport February 2013 concerning the “Dover People's Port Trust” (DPPT), has been exclusively published on Celtic Britannia.

“The Government’s position on the future of Dover Harbour was set out by the Maritime Minister, Stephen Hammond MP, following his visit to Dover on 30 January 2013 when he said:

“Dover Harbour Board has a new chair and I’m pleased to see them tackling the issues at hand. Following the Minister of State’s decision before Christmas not to approve the Dover Harbour Board’s transfer scheme that would have allowed privatisation, it is now for the board to consider all the available options for the long term future of the port’.

This remains the Government’s position.

You asked about the status of Dover People’s Port Trust (DPPT) proposals. As you may know, DPPT submitted an offer to the Government to purchase the port of Dover in November 2010. However, in response the Minister explained to DPPT that the Port of Dover was not an asset that belongs to the Government – it was (and remains) owned and operated by Dover Harbour Board (DHB). The Government was not therefore in a position to consider direct offers for the port. 

Also of course DHB’s own transfer scheme was being considered at that time, which, if it had been approved, would have given DPPT an opportunity to make an offer for the port as part of the sale process. DPPT has not submitted any further offers for the port since November 2010, although they made representations to the Department on DHB’s proposed transfer scheme (as summarised in the annex to the decision letter of 20 December 2012) and have also written on related issues.”

Now we see that the “Dover People's Port Trust” (DPPT), which made an offer in November 2010 to the Government to purchase the Port of Dover, was told then that the Government was not even taking this offer into consideration.

Furthermore, the “People's Port” has never made another offer to the Government since November 2010.

And further still, only if the Government had accepted the Dover Harbour Board (DHB) privatisation bid, would the “Dover People's Port Trust” have had an opportunity to make their offer to Dover Harbour Board, along with any other person, group or company that may so have wished to purchase the Port of Dover.

When the Decision Minister rejected the DHB privatisation scheme on 20^th December 2012, he wrote, concerning my Port proposal:

"Alternative options"

"One correspondent suggested the creation of a port service toll to fund developments at ports, and to provide funding for the local authorities in which ports were based as well as an income stream for central Government. The levy would be £50 for a heavy goods vehicle with smaller amounts for other types of vehicle.”

At least my proposal was taken into consideration as an alternative option. But that of DPPT, the "People's Port", was never even considered by the Government.

Another of my proposals to the Department for Transport, as presented in my representations on the DHB privatisation scheme, was a rail link to Dover's Western Docks for freight transport.

The Government has not accepted my Port toll proposals for County, District and Town funding. Only British Party campaigns for Prosperity over the British Isles, no other party. British Party shall not fail.

To see the Decision Minister's letter, follow link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49017/dover-harbour-board-transfer-20121220.pdf

How to finance local communities through port revenues?:

celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/11/british-party-port-toll-revenue.html

Rail link to Dover's port:
celticbritannia.blogspot.com/2011/11/british-party-rail-link-to-dover-port.html

Written by D. Alexander