Coastal towns call for £1bn post-Covid recovery fund

More than 40 council leaders have called on the government to set up a £1bn fund to help coastal towns recover from coronavirus and go green.

In a letter to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak and organised by the Maritime UK group, the council leaders warn that coastal and former industrial towns are the ‘most economically at risk’ from the current pandemic.

But it adds that the maritime sector is ‘uniquely positioned’ to create new opportunities to help these local economies recover.

It calls on ministers to invest £1bn to ‘kick-start’ a maritime decarbonisation programme, which could directly create 15,200 jobs and support a further 58,400 jobs in the supply chain.

‘That this letter has been signed by mayors and council leaders from across the United Kingdom demonstrates the unique role that maritime plays across the whole country,’ said Maritime UK director, Ben Murray.

‘Our Spending Review bid would create 74,000 well-paid, high-quality green collar jobs. And such is the nature of maritime, the vast majority of these would be in coastal towns and cities across the UK. There are very few sectors that can match maritime for its ability to level-up these communities.

‘T’he maritime sector supports the PM’s pledge to invest £160m into ports and factories to manufacture the next generation of wind turbines. But we want the government to go further. The sector has been calling for £1bn of investment in the planned Spending Review to kickstart the green investment needed to decarbonise the maritime sector entirely. Without doing so, the UK cannot reach its net-zero commitments,’ added Mr Murray.

‘The reality is that businesses have burnt through their cash reserves keeping Britain supplied with fuel, food and medicine throughout the COVID crisis. They simply don’t have the capital to invest in green technology and infrastructure on their own. As these mayors and council leaders have shown, backing maritime does more than simply support a single sector: it will help transform the fortunes of coastal towns and cities around the United Kingdom. It is therefore absolutely critical the sector gets the government investment it requires, and now.’

Photo Credit – Analogicus (Pixabay)