Minister's 'No' to Portbury
Page 26
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Mr Richard Marsh announced in th House of Commons last Friday the Government decision riot to authorize the Port of Bristol Authority to construct its proposed El 4.75m West Dock at Portbury.
Answering a Parliamentary question, he said: "After carefully considering all the evidence, the Government have decided that the case for this development, given its high cost, the pressure on national resources and the need for a planned allocation of po investment, has not been proved."
At the same time, the Port Authority learn ed the decision through a letter from M Marsh to its chairman, Sir Kenneth Brown This explained that the Government wer concerned about the poor financial prospec of the development, and were fully satisfie that rejection of the proposal would no hamper the development of the South-Wes Region.
In his letter the Minister points out tha fewer berths overall would in future be need ed for general cargo in the country as whole. This is because of the greatly in creased quantities of such cargo which could be moved across one berth with new systemof handling. The trend towards concentratio of European traffics on the South and as coasts seemed likely to continue. Port facilitie for bulk raw materials needed to be develope in close association with the development o the user industries. Against this background the Government had concluded that th building of these new berths on a speculativ basis could not be justified. especially as th financial return did not look promising.