By
Cherie Rowlands |
The Port of Liverpool can now offer turnaround facilities at its Pier Head cruise terminal after the city's council agreed to repay most of the public money used to build it, the national Government announced on 22 May.
In a written statement, Transport Minister Mike Penning said his department agreed to lift turnaround restrictions on the terminal after Liverpool council undertook to repay most of the £9.2 million grant, either as a lump-sum payment of £8.8 million, or a total of £12.6 million over 15 years.
The restriction had been in place as a grant condition when building Pier Head in 2007, to “avoid unfair competition with other UK ports which had invested in facilities without grant support,” Penning said. “The grant condition precluding turnaround had originally been set in 2007 in order to avoid unfair competition with other UK ports, which had invested in facilities without grant support. Liverpool City Council had requested that the condition be lifted and it was agreed that a proportion of the grant be repaid."
The Department of Transport will be helping to achieve the final European Union approval needed for the grant condition to be formally lifted.
Cruise Maritime Voyages’ Ocean Countess will be the first ship to use the turnaround service at Pier Head terminal this week as part of a Western Europe itinerary, before departing on 29 May.