High society
Dover could be the unwitting test bed for a revolution in UK governance
The new UK government’s championing of “Big Society” has inspired at least one national port community to think local.
The good citizens of the south coast towns of Dover and Deal have stoutly rejected plans from Dover Harbour Board (DHB) to place the port, the largest passenger port in northern Europe, into voluntary privatisation.
Earlier this year, DHB released plans to sell off the port, which has held trust status for 400 years, in order to fund its expansion projects. The move was spurred by the previous Labour government’s promise to explore "options for commercialisation of assets" of the UK’s major trust ports.
However, the new Conservative government has already ordered a further public consultation into the controversial privatisation plans which have infuriated the port’s operators. They claim the £60m they provided to fund a second terminal at the port will have been wasted if the sell-off goes ahead.
Shipping minister, Mike Penning, opened the door to alternative proposals with this second round of consultations. "I thought that the information wasn't fully out there, so I've given more opportunities for everybody - the port owners, operators, the local community - to come forward with their ideas as for the future of the port,” he said.
One alternative to the Harbour Board's proposal for voluntary privatisation has been voiced by Dover & Deal MP Charlie Elphicke. Mr Elphicke has, on behalf of his constituents, proposed that the port should be owned by a charity community trust, established for the public benefit.
“I have been inspired by the Prime Minister’s Big Society policy... a Trust of this nature could make a real difference – not least in bridging the confidence gap felt so deeply by the local community,” said Mr Elphicke.
Dover District Council, Kent County Council, and the local MP are some of the suggested trustees, with the existing management of DHB retained, or a partnership with a “proven and successful ports operator” sought.
If this pioneering move goes ahead, this could open the door for more locally-owned ports in the UK and the birth of a new port model. “Proven and successful” port operators should also be circling the UK port scene as there could be rich pickings for the eagled-eyed.
And if the community-owned port model is taken seriously, the Port of Dover could be the unwitting test bed for a revolution in UK governance. Who would have thought that UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s vision to break up public services and devolve their functions to ordinary people would have a bearing on port life?
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