Brexit customs site plan for Anglesey Show car park 'dropped'

HM Revenue and Customs will need to check hundreds of lorries a day using Holyhead once Brexit transition is over

Plans for a lorry customs site near Mona showground on Anglesey have been dropped, councillors have been told.

Opposition members were trying to overturn a decision by council leaders to reject the request to use the local authority-owned car park.

A senior officer told councillors that Mona was "no longer part of the discussion" as they upheld the refusal.

The UK government is looking for a site to check Holyhead port traffic once the Brexit transition period ends.

HM Revenue and Customs said it was reviewing a "number of potential sites close to ports, and near strategic road networks, including options to support Holyhead".

Anglesey's council's corporate scrutiny committee met on Tuesday to hear an opposition call for use of the site to be reconsidered.

Members heard the Anglesey Agricultural Society - which leases the site from the council for use as a park-and-ride facility for its events - was facing "financial disaster" following cancellation of its summer and winter shows due to Covid-19.

Councillors representing villages such as Gwalchmai feared an increase in heavy lorry traffic

Councillor Ken Hughes said the refusal was a "rash and political" decision, claiming a deal with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for a customs park would have generated at least £250,000 over four years.

But other members backed the refusal by the ruling Plaid Cymru-led executive, claiming lorries heading for a customs facility there would have increased heavy traffic on the A5 through the villages of Mona, Gwalchmai and Rhostrehwfa.

• Show bosses 'disappointed' at lorry park refusal

• Ports 'chaos' warning over customs controls

• Reality Check: Holyhead's Brexit dilemma

The council has said other more suitable sites are available, with at least one on the outskirts of Holyhead, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Deputy chief executive Dylan Williams told the meeting HMRC had confirmed Mona was "no longer part of the discussion following local feedback" but that no site had been selected as of yet.

A HMRC spokesman said it was working closely with the UK and Welsh governments and ports to "understand requirements and implement infrastructure changes in line with the support announced by the government".

"Alongside engaging with ports to understand what infrastructure may be required we are reviewing a number of potential sites which are close to ports, and near strategic road networks, including options to support Holyhead."