This year’s annual BPA conference was a huge success. The prestigious event was held from the 2nd – 4th October on the stunning shores of Lake Windermere, Cumbria. Over 200 guest speakers, exhibitors, delegates and partners gathered to hear all the latest challenges and opportunities facing the transport and logistics industry. The conference covered key issues such as shipping economy, investment initiatives, ports policy, shipping trends, environmental and safety issues, harbour management and port marketing to name just a few.
David Whitehead, Director at the BPA said of the event;
“The conference brought together ports from across the UK representing every kind of port market, from small leisure harbours to the very largest oil terminals handling supertankers. The new Ports Minister, Stephen Hammond, opened the event which focussed on UK growth and regeneration and the contribution made by ports to the economy.”
Stephen Hammond MP, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for the Department of Transport was a guest speaker at the event; in his address he described UK ports as “very important for economic growth” and confirmed the government’s commitment to investing in the rail and road network. However, shipping is a far more sustainable alternative to transportation by road and helps to address the government’s ongoing commitment to decreasing carbon omissions. Mr Hammond went on to praise local Cumbrian ports with particular emphasis on event hosts the Port of Workington.
The Port of Workington was announced at the conference as the UK’s fastest growing port, increasing throughput volume by an impressive 36% last year, with ambitious targets for 2012. In November 2010, the Port of Workington secured a rare public-private sector expansion investment of £5.7 million through the Britain’s Energy Coast initiative. The development work is now almost complete and has had a major impact on Cumbria’s infrastructure, by opening up a regular multi-modal trade route for local businesses to the rest of Europe, the only of its kind between the Mersey and the Clyde.
The developments at the port support the Britain’s Energy Coast Economic Blueprint, in its
aspiration to raise the attractiveness of Cumbria as a place to live, invest, work and visit. The Blueprint firmly maps out where Britain’s Energy Coast and its partners will focus their attention in terms of both funding and support, to ensure West Cumbria has a diverse, resilient and low carbon economy. It outlines what must be done to ensure West Cumbrian companies are able to capitalise on a potential £90 billion worth of investment in the nuclear industry over the next 15 years and how new opportunities can be grasped both locally and overseas in this vital sector and in ‘Clean Technologies’ such as wind, biomass and solar.
Janet Fallon, Chair of Workington Harbour Board believes it was significant for the Port of
Workington to host such a high profile industry event, helping to raise the profile and awareness not only of the port but also of the County as a whole.
Local Cumbrian firm Resource Marketing, the event organisers, described the event as a pleasure to organise and express the hope that delegates will come back to the county in the future for both business and pleasure.
For Further Information on this story please contact Nicci Rigby on 01229 400226
