Responding to the Minister’s statement, Bob Goldfield, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover, said: “The decision is frustrating for the Port and for the community, for whom this was a unique opportunity to benefit from the success of this major international gateway. Developing the Port, providing an important contribution to the regeneration of Dover, growing and adding value to the business, were key objectives for the DHB scheme and will continue to be our focus as we remain as a trust port.
It is, however, a great pity and a disappointment to the Members of the Dover Harbour Board that the people of Dover will not now benefit from the injection of many millions of pounds into local community projects, via our proposed Port of Dover Community Trust that would have been possible had the decision been in our favour”.
We will now take some time to consider the analysis behind the Ministerial decision in detail and assess its impact on our future strategic and financial plans.