Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, has teamed up with the Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, to “raise the alarm” about two major employers that could be at risk of closure.
The Vivergo Fuels bioethanol plant at Saltend Chemicals Park, near Hull, has been in the headlines in recent weeks with the plant warning it may soon be forced to close down as a result of the US-UK trade deal announced last month.
The deal includes the removal of the 19 per cent tariff on ethanol imported from the US into the UK. Vivergo Fuels, which is the UK’s largest producer of bioethanol, claims that this will result in British firms being unable to compete with the cheaper US imports.
Last week Mr Campbell visited the Saltend plant to meet with Vivergo’s Managing Director, Ben Hackett. Mr Hackett gave the Mayor a presentation on Vivergo’s production process before Mr Campbell was given a tour of the site. During his visit, the Mayor offered support for Vivergo’s efforts in demanding Government intervention to help save the UK’s bioethanol industry, with Mr Campbell saying that the plant’s closure would be “detrimental for the area.”
Mr Campbell has now written a joint letter alongside the Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, which is directly addressed the to Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. The partnership has come about as the Tees Valley is home to another key employer in the industry, the Ensus plant in Redcar.
The two Mayors are seeking to “raise the alarm” about the futures of the two plants, they write that the closure of the plants “would be a hammer blow to our communities – and a clear signal that jobs in the North still come second in national policymaking.”
(Image: Daniel Hodgson)
The letter adds: “The decision to remove tariffs on US bioethanol as part of the recent trade deal may have been made in Westminster, but its consequences will be felt directly in communities like ours – parts of the country that have already borne the brunt of deindustrialisation and seen little benefit from globalisation.
“Removing tariffs will open the door to subsidised US imports. Combined with a regulatory environment that already disadvantages domestic producers, both companies have warned that their operations are no longer commercially viable. Without urgent intervention, closures are imminent.”
The letter, signed by both Mayors, concludes by urging the Prime Minister and this Government to “act now” to “protect these jobs, support our communities, and secure the North’s industrial future.”
The Mayors say they welcome the opportunity to meet Mr Starmer “urgently” to discuss the issue.
In response to the Mayors’ letter, a Government spokesperson said: “The deal agreed with the US will save thousands of jobs in the UK, and we will always act in the national interest.
“We are working closely with the ethanol industry to find a way forward – and the Business and Transport Secretaries met with representatives from the bioethanol industry last week to discuss their concerns.”
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