Recession prompts HPUK's Bathside Bay planning extension request

Hutchison Ports (UK) is asking planners to extend the period of consent for its proposed Bathside Bay container terminal in Harwich, UK because the economic downturn means the development is unlikely to move forward before 2016.

Meanwhile, HPUK is considering using the site temporarily for offshore wind farm work.

In a letter, Harwich International Port local authority liaison committee members, Paul Davey, HPUK’s head of corporate affairs, said: “The original consent was received in 2006 and permitted construction of the deepsea container terminal. The consent requires construction to commence within 10 years.

“As a result of the global economic downturn and resulting recession in the UK, it is currently forecast that demand in the UK will not justify construction within that timeframe.”

HPUK hopes the period of consent can be extended by five years to 2021.

Source: Port News