Holyhead’s port has partially reopened after being damaged in Storm Darragh, with services resuming over a month after Christmas disruption. The Welsh government will review the impact of the closure before deciding on next steps.
Holyhead Counts the Cost as Services Resume After Storm
The UK’s second busiest port, Holyhead, has partially reopened after being completely shut down by damage from Storm Darragh. The partial reopening comes more than a month after the storm caused significant disruption to thousands of travellers and parcel deliveries over Christmas.
Two berths at the port, which links north Wales and Dublin, were damaged on December 7, affecting businesses in the town. One of those berths reopened on Thursday, but with only one berth in operation instead of the usual two. This means that Stena Line and Irish Ferries will have to run their regular four daily services from a single berth.
The Welsh government has said it would consider the results of a survey before deciding next steps. A temporary timetable has been drawn up for the partial reopening while the second berth is repaired.
Businesses in Holyhead have seen a huge drop in footfall and earnings since the closure of the port, which sees two million passengers a year and 1,200 lorries and trailers crossing every day. Traders are calling for more support to help them recover from the disruption.
“We don’t have the footfall coming from Ireland any longer and don’t seem to have the people in the shops spending their money,” said Anglesey councillor Jeff Evans. “It’s good that Stena is addressing the problem but it’s only reopening partially. The sooner it’s reopened normally, the better. We can’t ever have this happening again.”
The partial reopening has also had a significant impact on local businesses, including the Boathouse Hotel. Claudia Howard, who owns the hotel, said she had taken a “substantial hit” due to the cancellations of bookings and lost revenue from coach parties.
“We’ve had 147 bookings cancelled. If you take an average of £100 a night, that’s £14,700,” she said. “On top of that, we have their spends over the bar, breakfast or if they’ve had an evening meal, so actually we’ve lost considerably more than that.”
The Irish government has described the expected resumption of ferry services between Holyhead and Dublin as “very positive news” for passengers, freight operators, and all in the ports and maritime sectors. However, local businesses are calling for more support to help them recover from the disruption.
Anglesey council‘s leader Gary Pritchard said there should be some kind of “hardship fund” to help businesses. “We’re led to believe that the Irish government have been looking at, or have already, set up a hardship fund – certainly for the haulage industry in Ireland,” he said. “What we’re calling for is something similar for the businesses that have been impacted in Holyhead.”
The Welsh government has agreed to consider the evidence gathered by Anglesey council and will review the impact of the closure before deciding on next steps.
