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Cruise rival told to pay back more
A RIVAL for the Tyne’s multi-million pound cruise ship business has been warned it will have to pay a higher price.
Liverpool Council has offered to give back just £5.3m of £9.2m in Government cash used to build the Liverpool cruise terminal.
It was originally given the cash on condition cruises did not start or finish at the Port of Liverpool – a business which is worth £33m a year to the Port of Tyne, and is a major jobs provider.
Transport Minister, Mike Penning, says he is seeking independent advice on how much of the public money should be repaid if Liverpool is granted its wish to become a “turnaround” terminal, but he has warned that the repayment offer could be “insufficient”.
Despite concerns voiced by the European Commission, Liverpool Council has also made no offer to repay a further £8m in European Union funds.
Port of Tyne bosses say the Government should enforce the original conditions, and say Liverpool should not be allowed to become a turnaround facility.
Starting and finishing cruises at Port of Tyne contribute about £33m a year to the Tyneside economy and supports 1,200 jobs.
There are fears of job losses on Tyneside if this cruise business was diluted.
Port of Tyne chief executive, Andrew Moffat, said: “We have been involved in the consultation, and support the British Ports’ Association view of the matter.
“We welcome this interim statement from the Government and look forward to the outcome.”
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
BoldonLad
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:23 AMA prediction for you all. Given the useless MP we have, I would expect the cruises will be moved to Liverpool within the next 12 months, and the jobs in the North East will be lost.
The Menace
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 07:33 PMThat's got nothing to do with the issue. Liverpool agreed to accept the money with these conditions attached to it. Now they want the conditions changed so they can benefit from it. If they want to start or finish any cruise from Liverpool they should pay back the full amount to both the UK and Europe or return the port to the condition it was in prior to accepting the money.
conievence
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 05:40 PMLiverpool was planning for 12 cruises, starting and ending their journey at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal this year. The majority of these would be the Fred Olsen cruises returning to the port they had to leave when they could not use the Langton Dock terminal, for safety reasons. How can this be a threat to Tyneside jobs I wonder? I would really appreciate a cogent argument on that point
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