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Councillor calls for renationalising shipyard

Tuesday, 30 July 2019 07:53

By Daniel Clark, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Appledore Shipyard closed on March 15 this year

Appledore Shipyard should be renationalised by the government and fully integrated into the operations of the Ministry of Defence, a leading councillor has asked for.

Cllr Rob Hannaford, leader of the opposition Labour group on Devon County Council, put forward the notice of motion to last Thursday’s full council meeting.

His motion said that the council was gravely concerned that despite having a highly skilled, dedicated, and innovative local work force, the shipyard remains closed, and that to secure its long term future, ensure that defence capacity and resilience are maintained, and provide employment and prosperity to the local community, and the wider county of Devon, it should be renationalised.

Appledore Shipyard closed on March 15 this year when Babcock’s lease expired, despite a union-led protest march, a 9,500-strong petition and the efforts of local MPs.

Speaking on the motion, Cllr Hannaford, said: “To see a successful shipyard turn profit year-on-year and then struggle to secure work for this committed workforce is very unfair and a sad travesty. It’s a huge concern that this important local shipyard remains closed – especially as we know that it has an incredibly skilled and innovative workforce.

“We don’t want the local workers permanently transferred to Plymouth as it is a serious loss of skills and economic activity that this part of Devon cannot afford to lose.

“As all the interagency reports and data indicate Torridge is an area of very high rural; deprivation, with widespread child poverty. So the loss of hundreds of highly skilled, well paid jobs, with career progression is devastating.”

He added: “I and other councilors are really worried that the workers and their families could lose their homes if the dockyard remains closed for a long period of time, forcing them to move out of Devon to find other work. We understand that many workers are having to rent out accommodation in Plymouth, drive, or take the bus to the city — a four-hour round trip from Bideford, where many of Appledore’s shipyard workers live, and this is placing a big strain on everyone concerned.

“Appledore has a history of coming back from the brink, having been on the verge of closure several times before. Renationalisation can provide a new vision that could still harness the considerable potential that remains.

“What we really don’t want to happen is a redevelopment into a marina, coupled with expensive riverside apartments, that would be a socially excluding and depressing future alternative for the site.

“So we are calling on the new Government, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to show some real leadership and take the helm of Appledore Shipyard, nationalise the yard, integrate it into the Ministry of Defence, and proactively draw up a full strategic plan focused on maintaining capacity and skills. Ideally I would like it to become a national hub of marine and defence engineering excellence.

“In terms of renationisation, this move is in political and economic terms on trend. It should not be lost on the Government that Scotland – aware of the strategic and economic importance of indigenous shipbuilding – is drawing up plans to nationalise the Ferguson shipyard on the Clyde to secure its future. Furthermore a similar move is being suggested in Northern Ireland, at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.”

“I feel strongly that there are also bigger strategic issues at play here in terms of defence resilience, building military engineering capacity, and protecting national security.

“It’s highly likely that if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, without a deal or with a bad deal, that we could see a rise in Scottish nationalism, with a view to a second successful independence referendum. So surely we should be retaining and enhancing Appledore, to fulfil any government’s primary function, that being to provide for military defence of the protection of the nation.”

As is the procedure of the council, the motion will be referred to the cabinet, who would then make a recommendation back to full council.

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