MP calls on council to pay more to save ferry service

An MP has called on a council to reverse its decision not to increase its funding for a long-running ferry service, which is due to cease operating next month.

Lancashire Council County should, as the authority overseeing transport, pay the cost of running the Fleetwood to Knott End ferry service.

But under an agreement, it has shared the cost with the district authority Wyre Council, paying half and half.

With costs rising, the county council has said it is unable to contribute more, with highways and transport cabinet member Warren Goldsworthy saying that doing so would take money away from other services, and Wyre Council should be responsible.

Blackpool North and Fleetwood MP Lorraine Beavers said the "vital" service, which connects the two towns either side of the River Wyre estuary and can carry up to 35 people, was "about keeping both communities connected".

She said the county council, as the transport authority, "should be providing this service".

She called on the council to increase its contribution to keep it going for another 12 months, while it worked on a longer-term solution with Wyre Council.

The service, which has been running since the 1840s, was due to have ceased operating on 15 April this year as no "compliant tenders" to run it had been received but a last minute reprieve enabled it to keep operating temporarily.

Michael Vincent, leader of Wyre Council, told BBC Radio Lancashire it was a "very disappointing" situation.

The county council had always funded half of the cost of subsidising the service but rising costs meant more was needed this year, with Wyre only starting to contribute half because the service was at risk, he explained.

Goldsworthy said the authority recognised the importance of the ferry and had agreed funding of £57,110 a year to support the service for the next three years.

He said the "significant additional contribution" they had been asked to make meant money would have been taken from other budgets.

The transport boss said Wyre Council was responsible for the ferry contract and they would need to find the extra funding or negotiate with the operator.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.