Hope on the horizon for effort to save Gosport Ferry as Whitehall is 'close' to agreeing a rescue deal

Proposals drawn up by the Department of Transport to help keep Gosport Ferry afloat are ‘very nearly’ completed, Gosport Borough Council’s leader Mark Hook has insisted.

The news follows a campaign to lobby transport secretary Grant Shapps to save the struggling ferry firm, which has seen passenger numbers plummet by 90 per cent since the coronavirus lockdown began.

Councillor Hook was contacted by officials from the secretary of state’s office today and felt confident that a bail-out plan was close to being approved.

‘Progress is being made,’ he said. ‘There’s been a lot of discussion between the local authorities, Department of Transport, the ferry company itself and our MP, Caroline Dinenage, to try and get a planned financial structure in place and I think we’re very, very near to achieving that.’

Local political leaders held talks with Mr Shapps last Monday to ask for support. He ordered proposals should be with him within 48 hours.

Councils proposed they, the company and government should put in funding to maintain the service.

However, 10 days have since passed and the government is yet to officially reveal its plan, leading to frustration in Portsmouth.

The city’s council leader, Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: ‘It would appear that over ten days they’ve made no progress, which is very frustrating.

‘Councils have said we will put money in to keep the ferry service going. But we were very clear with the government: we won’t do this without the government doing their bit as well.

‘And if the government won’t do their bit then it cannot be right to just rely on councils to bail the company out. It needs to be the company, councils and the government working together.’

Cllr Hook added he ‘shared’ Cllr Vernon-Jackson’s ‘frustrations’ over the deal and admitted the process had taken ‘a bit longer’ than hoped.

But he added: ‘It’s right that when you are spending taxpayers’ money that it’s done in the right and proper way and that there are no knee-jerk reactions on what we should be doing.’

The ferry normally carries 7,000 passengers a day. But that has slumped to about 600.

Workers at the company feel left in limbo. The firm has furloughed 16 of its 36 staff and is operating one ferry instead of two.

The crisis has sparked an online campaign, with more than 11,000 people having signed the ‘Save Gosport Ferry’ petition on change.org

On Monday transport minister Kelly Tolhurst told MPs government officials were ‘working with’ councils to find a’ suitable support package’ to save the ferry firm, which is owned by FIH group plc.

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