New Forest District Council refuses to support the return of Hythe ferry with £60,000 grant

A PLEA to support the return of the Hythe ferry with a £60,000 grant has been thrown out by New Forest District Council.

Leader of the Lib Dem opposition, Cllr Malcolm Wade, urged members of the Conservative-run council to support the “well-loved” service with a one-off capital grant.

As reported in the A&T, the service, which connects Hythe and Southampton, has been out of action since last August after engineers rendered the boarding pontoon unsafe.

Last month director of the Hythe and Southampton Ferry Company, Fran Collins, confirmed £250,000 was needed for a new pontoon as the existing one could not be repaired.

Speaking at a meeting of NFDC, Cllr Wade said the “well used, well loved” service was part of the Solent Way as well as the King Charles III England Coast Path, providing a route to the Forest for tourists.

He said the “modest” grant towards the new pontoon would “put the ferry back on an operational footing and make the King Charles III England Coast Path whole again."

He added: “The ferry company is sensitive to the fact that once we get it running, they need to up their game. They are looking at lots of methods and ideas to develop the business; they are working hard and it is profitable.”

Cllr David Harrison agreed and said the council should “do what we can” to keep the “vital” service running.

He added: “This district council won’t be running for that much longer – I would like one of our legacies to be that we supported the ferry and that sends a really import message to any combined authority that takes our place.”

However, Cllr Richard Young said it would be “unwise” to support a business “owned by two pension companies”.

Cllr Derek Tipp agreed, adding: “My concern here is not the initial grant, but the sustainability of the ferry. There is a lot of work needed and it could be a bottomless pit if we’re not careful.

“The council cannot constantly keep propping up a business that is not profitable.

“I hope the ferry does come back, obviously it has lost a lot of customers, but there could be a lot of money needed here."

NFDC leader, Cllr Jill Cleary said the administration had “very tough decisions” to make, adding: “Once we start saying yes, we will be inundated with requests. I think we need to keep our finances in order. There is much more we can do with the money we are being asked to spend on this.”

Members voted 20 to 17 against the grant, with five abstentions.