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After over a month of closure following damage caused by Storm Darragh, Holyhead port is set to fully resume its services. The UK’s second busiest port was hit hard, with two of its berths damaged on December 7th, leading to thousands of parcel deliveries and travellers being affected over Christmas, as well as impacting businesses in the town. Although one of the damaged berths will reopen on Thursday, the partial opening will still require Stena Line and Irish Ferries to run their usual four daily services from a single berth rather than the usual two.
The closure of the port has had a devastating effect on businesses in the area, with owners seeing huge drops in earnings and footfall. Two million passengers use the port every year, with 1,200 lorries and trailers crossing every day, making it a crucial part of the local economy. Holyhead council’s leader, Gary Pritchard, suggested the creation of a hardship fund to help those affected.
Anglesey councillor Jeff Evans explained the severity of the situation for businesses, stating that they noticed a sharp decrease in people shopping in their stores. Claudia Howard, owner of the Boathouse Hotel, reported significant losses resulting from 147 cancelled bookings, as well as their regular spending on bar drinks and meals. The business also had to address storm damage expenses, with Howard explaining that “the cancellations also impacted supply chains, such as linen companies which supply the hotel.”
While the Welsh government waits to consider the impact of the closure, Irish ministers are expected to set up a hardship fund for those impacted by the port’s closure. The Irish government has described the resumption of services between Holyhead and Dublin as positive news and has suggested reviewing the impact of the closure. Despite the partial reopening, businesses hope that the port will soon resume full services and return to its typical berth arrangements in the near future
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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