Cabinet members at Thanet District Council are to consider the future direction of the Port of Ramsgate, at a meeting on Thursday 18 December.
The recommendations to be discussed focus on; mitigating financial risk, securing short-term income and developing long-term asset disposal options.
This follows a Cabinet decision in June 2025 not to progress the £7.6m Ramsgate Pathfinder Port Infrastructure project. The project aimed to attract an operator to run a substantial part of the port under concession. Officers were then asked to explore alternative options. The report being considered next week sets out the findings of that work to date.
The core objectives remain to end the Port’s revenue deficit position and to deliver a long-term sustainable solution. The ultimate aim is to reduce financial and regulatory risk to the council. Delivering an end result that does not require local financial contributions is also key.
The report states that investment in the region of £17.5m would be needed to bring the berths and associated quayside infrastructure at the Port back to an operational status. However this investment is well beyond the council’s financial capacity.
As such, a number of immediate actions are being proposed:
- Initial steps to remove the council’s ‘Open Port Duty’
- Considering options to sell the land
- Identifying short-term income opportunities
- Starting the Harbour Revision Order (HRO) process to remove the Open Port Duty
The report recommends the submission of a Harbour Revision Order (HRO) to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) early in 2026. This is to remove the Open Port Duty linked to the ro-ro (roll-on roll-off) berths and associated land. This step is considered necessary because the insufficient income and resulting underinvestment, pose an unacceptable legal and financial risk to the council as the Statutory Harbour Authority (SHA). The action will help to mitigate these risks. The HRO process is estimated to take approximately four years to complete and could be aborted prior to completion if circumstances were to change.
- Developing long-term disposal options
Approval is being sought to further develop four remaining asset disposal options for the Port (Options 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d within the report), which involve leasehold or freehold disposal. This work would be brought back to a future meeting of Cabinet for a final decision. Choosing a disposal route is considered most likely to deliver a more sustainable solution which also carries less risk.
The report also recommends that six other high-level options be discounted from further development at this time.
- Securing short-term income opportunities
The report proposes that Cabinet approves plans to immediately pursue and secure short-term income opportunities (circa 1-4 years) from the Port of Ramsgate’s currently underutilised land. This is to directly address and improve the Port’s current budget deficit position while longer-term plans are developed and implemented.
Cabinet will also be asked to consider whether to include the adjacent Royal Harbour in the scoping of future disposal options. The Harbour is fundamental to the rich maritime heritage of Ramsgate and is a key asset of the town and district. Currently, the Port and Royal Harbour are operated as a single Statutory Harbour Authority. As part of the options under review a position on the future of the whole site therefore needs to be established.
Councillor Rick Everitt, Leader of the Council, said: “We understand the deep maritime history tied to Ramsgate, and different party administrations have shared an ambition to pursue options to re-open channel crossings. But the scale of the financial commitment required to return the ro-ro berths to operational status is simply well beyond the capacity of a district council.
“The recommendations proposed allow us to take a crucial step to protect the council and, by extension, our residents, from significant financial and legal risk. By starting the process to remove the outdated ‘Open Port Duty’ and exploring sustainable long-term disposal options, we could end the revenue deficit and secure a more viable future.
“The need to identify challenges that could arise from splitting control of the port and harbour is understood by Cabinet, but this does not mean we would support selling or leasing the harbour, as we recognise how integral it is to Ramsgate as a community asset. It is, however, our responsibility as the political leadership to give officers a clear steer on such an issue, which is why this is included in the report.”
An update on Brett Aggregates’ use of the land at the Port is also included within the report. This follows a temporary licence, for an additional two acres of land, granted in July 2025.
The purpose of the temporary licence is to allow Brett Aggregates to handle a greater volume of aggregate in the short term. That licence was due to expire at the end of December 2025. It will be extended for a further six months to the end of June 2026, while negotiations on a longer term lease for the additional land take place. If negotiations reach a point where heads of terms for a new lease are provisionally agreed, the lease will go to Cabinet for formal approval prior to being executed.
Separately, Brett Aggregates has approached the council for a permit to process aggregate at the Port. Brett has been processing aggregates at the site since summer 2025, and voluntary mitigations have been agreed while a permit is considered. The application process will be informed by dust assessment work which started at the beginning of November. Noise levels at the site are being assessed separately.
The full report is available on thanet.gov.uk
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Additional background
- The council as SHA is subject to the Open Port Duty. The Open Port Duty is a legal obligation for ports to remain accessible to the public for shipping, unshipping goods, and landing or embarking passengers, upon payment of applicable rates and fees. This duty arises from the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 which remains in force as legislation.
- The six other high-level options proposed to be discounted from further development at this time include a second concession tender attempt (Option 3), a new funding bid (Option 4a), and a council-led masterplan (Option 2b).
