Welsh Govt calls halt to final commissioning and staffing at £50million border post

THE Welsh Government will not push on with final commissioning and staffing at the £50million Holyhead border post being built to deal with Brexit checks.

- By OWEN HUGHES

The Daily Post revealed this week that the facility under construction could end up a giant 'white elephant'.

The facility was set to deal with post-Brexit sanitary and phytosanitary checks on fresh produce from the EU.

Despite leaving the European Union in 2020, the then-Conservative UK Government delayed implementing the checks over concerns that it would lead to price rises for businesses and consumers.

But plans to implement the checks in the future continued, with border posts under construction across the UK.

In Wales the posts would be funded by the UK Government but operated by the Welsh Government, as they are responsible for biosecurity, food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls in Wales.

Kier Group was handed a £41m build contract for Holyhead last summer and work got under way on the development at Parc Cybi. Work is due to be completed by the autumn.

But in May, the UK and EU reached a new SPS agreement as part of efforts to reset their post-Brexit relationship.

This agreement aims to reduce trade barriers for food, plants, and animal products by streamlining processes and reducing checks, making trade between the UK and EU cheaper and easier.

The deal could render the border posts redundant before they even get operational.

Welsh Government yesterday released a statement on the current situation.