UK Government urged to pay compensation for Ynys Môn border control post

Plaid Cymru politicians have called on the UK Government to pay compensation after the development of a new border control post on Ynys Môn was halted.

The Welsh Government has announced its intention to halt the final commissioning and staffing of the Holyhead Border Control Post, following the announcement of a new trade agreement between the U.K. and the E.U earlier this month, having provided £7m to the development.

The facility, which was commissioned in March 2024 and developed on Welsh Government land in Parc Cybi, was set to conduct sanitary and phytosanitary checks on fresh produce arriving from the EU. However, following recent agreements between the UK and the EU which reduce trade barriers for food, plants, and animal products, the final commissioning and staffing of the facility have been delayed.

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Frustration

The development of the Border Control Post caused some frustration locally on Ynys Môn as residents in Holyhead suffered an influx of HGVs parking across the town following the closure of a truck stop site to make way for the post-Brexit infrastructure.

In a joint statement, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, Llinos Medi MP, and Cllr Gary Pritchard said: “Today’s decision to halt the final commissioning and staffing of the Holyhead Border Control Post - which has cost the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds to develop - is reflective of the chaotic nature of the whole Brexit process.

“The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs has signalled that the Welsh Government is currently out of pocket to the tune of around seven million pounds for the BCP, despite Brexit being a reserved matter. And locally, we lost the popular ‘Truck Stop’ parking facility to make way for post-Brexit border infrastructure.

"We need assurances from Westminster that the Welsh Government will be compensated for its contribution to this project, and that any additional funding that’s required to repurpose the site for future use is paid for, in full, by the Treasury. We are clear that Holyhead - and Wales more widely - should not carry the cost for a hard Brexit that was made in London.”

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Scrapped

Border checks on fruit and vegetable imports from EU were due to be introduced on 1 July but were scrapped as part of a new trade deal.

The produce sector has suggested that halting the plans will save businesses around £200 million of additional supply chain costs.

Bosses had warned that this could add to inflation, put pressure on food supply chains and threaten the future of businesses.

The new SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) deal with the EU will eliminate routine border checks for food exports and imports on certain products.

The latest relaxation in trade rules will take place until January 31 2027 as a “contingency measure”, according to officials.

This is the fourth time the border check plans have been pushed back, with the proposals previously set to come into force in January.