Ramsgate fisherman furious as 'pushed to one side' with funding cut by 97 per cent

Thanet District Council (TDC) insists they had no choice but to reallocate the money due to government rules.

Transcript

00:00A staple of any seaside town, but locally caught fish could be under threat in Ramsgate.

00:08The Fannet Fishermen Association say that's because a pot of £3.5m from a previous levelling

00:14up bid has been reduced to £100,000.

00:18It won't scratch the surface, you'd almost be better off not having anything than to

00:25have £100,000 because you're not going to achieve anything with it.

00:29This harbour wasn't built to house ferries or commercial or leisure craft, it was built

00:36on the back of a fishing fleet and now the fishing fleet is the very, very, very poor

00:42relative of this harbour.

00:44And when it comes to the current facilities, this is really all that the fishing industry

00:49has, it's basically a storage area for ropes and nets.

00:54The original plans would have seen a site where the local fishing fleet could unload,

00:58freeze and store their catch, but having concerns over the sector's employability

01:02in the future and the original scheme being undeliverable, the local authority says they've

01:07transferred the money to fund improvements to another part of the port which could see

01:12ferries returning.

01:14However the fishery community here today says if they were given £600,000 instead, it could

01:19reignite the trade and encourage a knock-on effect.

01:22The fish and chip facility, which is what was planned, connected to the processing unit,

01:31that would create jobs, so I'm afraid the claim that the output isn't there, I don't

01:36agree with.

01:37What we do have the opportunity here is to provide further employment whilst protecting

01:45what's already there.

01:47In a statement, the leader of Fannet District Council said the proposals for the fishing

01:50facilities project have been subject to change from the fishing community with the inevitable

01:55result of increased costs.

01:56There's been a reduction in the fleet since 2021 and the Fannet Fishermen's Association

02:00was unable to reach a consensus on what should be included in the facility or commit to taking

02:05on the future operation of the building and ongoing management and maintenance costs.

02:09The council will continue to support the fishing industry in Ramsgate, but we are not able

02:13to allocate a more significant amount without being able to demonstrate that it will provide

02:18value for money.

02:19The Fishermen's Association says there are three more fisheries waiting to be opened,

02:23but they say without this funding it might be unsustainable and they're now not ruling

02:27out going to the government to argue their case.

02:31Gabriel Morris in Ramsgate.