Row breaks out over whether a ferry from Wales to North Devon will ever happen

Councillors across the Bristol Chanel have clashed over claims the leader of Swansea Council ‘misled’ the public on a proposed ferry service to North Devon and Cornwall.

The scheme has been talked about for decades and has left many on the Devon side with ‘ferry fatigue’ because it still hasn’t happened, but in recent years Swansea Council has appeared to be a strong backer of the idea.

The extent of the council's involvement in ferry proposals since 2021 was examined in a scrutiny meeting of the Welsh council on Tuesday (November 3).

Its leader, Councillor Rob Stewart said he stood by the release published just before the 2022 council elections which said ‘the Swansea Labour-led authority are planning a new green-powered ferry service over the Bristol Channel to Devon and Cornwall’.

Cllr Stewart was quoted in the press release, saying: “This is an exciting project and we have held a number of exploratory meetings with councils in the south west and we will be able to announce more details after the elections in May.”

In July there were claims the ferry could be feasible to start operating from 2030, costing as little as £15 for foot passengers and taking an hour if the proposed route between Ilfracombe and Swansea is taken forward.

At the time North Devon Council said there was ‘a lot of work to be done’ if the long-discussed plan was to become reality by then and there have been no further updates as such.

The Swansea scrutiny meeting heard a report by council chief executive Martin Nicholls that set out two phases of ferry engagement – the first from 2021 to 2023 involving the council and organisations and individuals mainly in South West England.

It said: “While a number of opportunities were explored, significant challenges remained and opportunities to seek grant funding to develop the concept were unsuccessful and as such the feasibility process stagnated.”

The second phase of engagement was from 2023 when a company called Ocean Prime Industries Ltd expressed an interest in pushing the concept forward.

The council helped Ocean Prime apply for a grant of just under £25,000 to run a public consultation to gauge appetite for a high-speed ferry service linking Swansea and south-west England.

‘98 per cent are in favour of a ferry’

The company subsequently published a report in March this year saying nearly 98 per cent of the 4,396 respondents backed the idea. Ocean Prime’s report talked about the opportunities and challenges, included its own analysis and concluded the economic case was ‘compelling’ and outlined a business proposition.

Mr Nicholls’ report said: “The council understands that Ocean Prime continues to refine its evidence base to support applications for grant funding for further development.

“As such the council's role to date has been limited to supporting exploration of the concept and maintaining dialogue with relevant stakeholders.

“The council is not the project promoter, developer or proposed operator of the service nor has it entered into any formal partnership, governance or delivery arrangements or committed funding towards implementation of the proposal.”

Speaking at the November 3 scrutiny meeting Cllr Stewart said no ports or routes had been identified or secured as yet to accommodate a ferry and that the vessel's design and fuel type hadn't been established.

The intention from the outset had been a ferry that would run on hydrogen fuel potentially generated from a proposed Swansea Bay energy and tidal lagoon project.

When would “enough be enough?”

Cllr Stewart told councillors on the scrutiny panel that a ferry service, if it was to happen, could be powered by diesel or liquefied natural gas to start with and work towards clean hydrogen.

Mr Nicholls meanwhile said the council had no financial commitments to the ferry proposal but would always support organisations which sought to boost the local economy and promote jobs.

He said the authority would support Ocean Prime if it was to submit grant applications to take the concept further forward but, when asked by Cllr Jeff Jones if the council might decide “enough was enough” he said a “judgement call” would be made if it appeared unviable or unlikely to come to fruition.

Mr Nicholls also referred to a 2024-2034 strategic plan by Ilfracombe Town Council which said the creation of a maritime hub that would result in regular ferry services between the town and South Wales remained an objective, which supported the efforts of local authorities on both sides of the Bristol Channel to make this happen.

The meeting heard that a roll-on roll-off (RORO) ferry taking cars and potentially some freight as well as foot passengers would make it more likely to be viable, but this meant more port investment.

While a foot passenger service from Ilfracombe could be viable as things stand, previous coverage has suggested the harbour would need major investment and infrastructure improvements to accommodate a RORO ferry.

“Highly unlikely”

Cllr Stewart said there would be nothing to stop an operator acquiring a vessel which could be accommodated by existing ports in South West England and applying for a licence to run it.

Opposition leader Chris Holley said “it's highly unlikely” a RORO ferry could dock in a port across the Bristol Channel, adding: “It would take a substantial amount of money and investment.”

The Liberal Democrat, who chairs the service improvement, regeneration and finance panel of Swansea Council, said people supported the idea of a ferry and that it could benefit South Wales thanks to summer day trips from thousands of holidaymakers in North Devon and Somerset. But it was, he said, “a very difficult thing.”

Turning to the Swansea Labour press release of April 2022, Cllr Holley put it to Cllr Stewart that what had been written about the council “planning a new green-powered ferry service” was different to what had been set out in the meeting.

He asked: "Did you mislead the public with the press release, or was it an accident?”

Cllr Stewart replied he did not and said it was accurate and that the aspiration for a hydrogen-powered ferry service remained.

Referring to that 2022 period, the Labour leader said he thought “there was a real annoyance within some Conservative members” because “we as a political party here made people aware that we were having discussions about the ferry crossing.”

He went on to talk about ambition, gaining a fair share of government funding, HS2 and the Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro.

Cllr Holley said: “Thank you leader and thank you for not answering the question. I think it was excellent.”

Cllr Stewart replied: “I did answer the question which is accurate and I stand by it.”

Cllr Holley said it wasn't accurate in as much as the Swansea Labour press release said the council was planning a green ferry. “They're not, we're supporting one – that's a totally different concept,” he said.

”I think people will see you splitting hairs there,” said Cllr Stewart.