Britain wasted at least £100m in taxpayers’ money on zombie Brexit border inspection posts that were never ultimately used, figures from HMRC have revealed, The Guardian reported.
The sites were constructed following the UK’s departure from the European Union, only to be quickly decommissioned as the Conservative government vacillated over plans to check incoming continental goods.
Seven Abandoned Inland Facilities
Five of the seven planned inland border facilities in England and Wales never reached an operational stage. Ministers concluded that food arriving from the EU would maintain high pre-Brexit standards without heavy border interventions.
The most controversial project, dubbed “Dover white cliffs,” cost the taxpayer £28m despite remaining an empty field. Residents in the village of Guston learned of the inland border facility on Dec. 31, 2020, just hours before the transition year ended. The Department for Transport spent £21m to procure the site and £7m on ground works, including archaeological surveys for Roman remains.
Birmingham spent £17m on a car park facility at the airport, including £11m to build and £6m in closure costs. Warrington and Ebbsfleet absorbed £20m combined.
Meanwhile, the principal Brexit border facility at Sevington in Kent ran up capital costs of £154m. HMRC revealed via freedom of information requests that operational costs there reached an additional £179m.
Portsmouth Faces Uncertainty
Portsmouth port spent £23m building a high-tech border control post that now faces an uncertain future. The city council received £17.1m in government funding, leaving local taxpayers with a £6m shortfall that otherwise would have funded essential services.
The facility was built to government specifications to handle biosecurity and food import checks. Instead of the 80 daily inspections originally envisioned, the site averages just two trailer checks daily, according to port director Mike Sellers.
Given the border post’s location within the operational port, ideally we would look to repurpose it rather than demolish it, but it will cost us almost as much to repurpose as to demolish. It was bespoke and built for food import checks and biosecurity, it is not suitable for general warehousing and will have to be changed. — Mike Sellers
Portsmouth officials join other port authorities in demanding government compensation for facilities rendered redundant by shifting post-Brexit policies.
Burnham Visits Brussels to Reset Brexit Negotiations
The emissions trading deal has been finished for weeks, exempting both sides from each other’s CBAM carbon border taxes, reducing long-term volatility, and unlocking investment in emissions markets. The draft states that once the three main agreements have been concluded, the EU looks forward to their joint and timely entry into force as a package.
Draft texts circulated to EU nations indicate a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement could scrap costly export health certificates and phytosanitary fees. British producers may also continue experimenting with novel foods under a labeling system ensuring unauthorized products do not cross the Channel.
Animal health certificates have historically consumed disproportionate time, requiring 10-to-14-page documents for single trips.
The proposed SPS agreement aims to remove routine border checks for fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish, and seed potatoes.
