A clear analysis of the ferry subsidy and potential alternative uses of those funds, drawing from the documents and information provided by DfI, to highlight the need to consider an alternative self funding crossing.
Annual Ferry Service Costs:
From DFI’s 2023/24 figures (Table 1 in document index 2):
- Operating costs: £3,520,000
- Income: £1,434,000
- Net annual subsidy: £2,086,000
This annual subsidy could alternatively fund:
- Healthcare Services
- Approximately 70 full-time nurses (based on average NHS nurse salary of £30,000)
OR - Around 20,000 GP appointments (based on average cost of £100 per appointment)
- Education
- About 60 full-time teachers (based on average teacher salary of £35,000)
OR - Support for approximately 200 students through university (based on £10,000 annual support)
- Social Housing
- Construction of 10-12 new social housing units annually (based on average cost of £180,000 per unit)
- Public Transport
- Purchase and operation of 4-5 new public buses serving rural routes (based on average cost of £400,000 per bus plus operating costs)
- Road Improvements
- Annual resurfacing of approximately 10km of rural roads (based on average cost of £200,000 per km)
It’s worth noting that according to the ferry service reviews (document index 5), the current service:
- Only serves around 650 vehicles per day
- Operates at 41% cost recovery
- Has rising operational costs year on year
- Requires significant ongoing capital investment in vessels and infrastructure
The funds currently used to subsidize the ferry service could potentially deliver broader community benefits if redirected to other public services. However, this would need to be balanced against the essential transport link the ferry provides, as documented in the local community feedback (document index 14) highlighting its importance for access to education, healthcare and employment.
Any change in subsidy allocation would need careful consideration of alternative crossing solutions to maintain connectivity between Strangford and Portaferry as part of Queens / Kings highway. We do not have DfI to this point of consideration, at present !