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Western approaches


The economy of Wales and the West of England has always been heavily dependent on the sea. Now, as the region seeks to emerge from the Covid crisis, its ports and freight links will be even more vital.


Wales, more than most parts of the British Isles, has had to learn to make the oſt en painful transition from heavy industry to a knowledge-based economy. Slowly, offi ces and service centres are replacing factories, works and mines, especially in the large towns. Heavy


industry still exists,


however. The country of around 3 million is one of the UK’s last steel making centres, although doubts have now surfaced over the future of Liberty Steel, which still maintains operations in Newport and Tredegar aſt er its owner - Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance – became the subject of a Serious Fraud Offi ce investigation. This followed the collapse of its major lender, Greensill. Steel making still continues


at Tata’s Port Talbot complex however.


Both steel concerns are major


users of South Wales ports – ABP’s Port Talbot in Tata’s case – while GFG owns and operates the private Bird Port in Newport (a separate entity from ABP’s facility there).


Coal mining – the other staple of


South Wales industry – has almost, though not completely died out, a situation that would have been considered unthinkable as recently as the early 1980s. The port of Cardiff – indeed the city itself – owes its existence to the coal export trade, but Cardiff has diversifi ed its economy into new service sectors more successfully than the rest of the country. Slate was historically the big


industry in North Wales. Again, the sector has not entirely died out – a couple of the major quarries remain open – but it is nothing like the industry it once


was and certainly not a major freight generator. Farming may seem important


as much of Wales consists of green open spaces, but in fact it contributes only around 1% of the whole economy these days. Critics have at times


contrasted the Welsh economy’s performance with that of Ireland or even Scotland’s in terms of its ability to attract ‘new’ industries such as IT or biotech. However, it must be remembered that Wales was one of the pioneers in this fi eld when it set up electronics factories in South Wales in an attempt to replace lost jobs in coal or steel making. Cynics suggested that it was the womenfolk who benefi ted mostly from these eff orts, as horny-handed


ex-


miners or metalworkers lacked the delicate touch needed to assemble circuit boards.


Now, of course, many of the


factories that made TVs or radios have themselves passed into industrial history. The transport, freight and


marine industry itself is a major component of the Welsh economy, possibly more so now that that other major wealth generator, tourism, has had to take a back seat. The Irish Sea ferry


ports of Fishguard, Pembroke and Holyhead – the latter the busiest in the UK outside Dover – generate important economic activity. The South Wales ports, particularly Newport, handle cargo that moves to and from places well beyond the Welsh border. Milford Haven is also one of the UK’s most important ports in tonnage terms, although most of that is liquid bulk. Aerospace is also important to


north-east Wales, with the Airbus factory at Broughton, just over the


border from Chester. However, the downturn in the global airline industry will inevitably have an eff ect on the operation. The Welsh economy, along


with the rest of the UK, has of course been badly hit by the Covid crisis. With the elections behind them, the Welsh Government has pledged to spend an extra £1.1bn in the next fi nancial year, although critics say that this is a small fraction of what is actually needed to fully revive the economy.


All change on the trains but will freight be forgotten?


There is a danger of freight being forgotten in the fl urry of reports and activity emanating from the Welsh Government, warns Rail Freight Group (RFG) Wales and West Midlands representative, Robin Smith. Three reports and studies


covering various aspects of the Welsh and transport system have appeared within the space of the last few months, against a background of recent Welsh Government elections and the transfer of transport responsibilities to a Climate


Change ‘super department’ that


will also environment, include energy the and


planning, among others. Passenger rail operations were also transferred from Keolis to Transport for Wales - the


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