The post you are reporting:
Alexander,
You have managed to read into what I've written things that I didn't write. However, I thank you for the opportunity to further promote the programme and plans of the People's Port.
The monies from regeneration funding are not money for nothing, who invests money that way and expects to stay in business? Regeneration money will be leveraged with JV partners (in regeneration projects), businesses, educational establishments, etc. GB£50 million would not get much on its own and is just a seed fund. No one has ever said that any money will be just tipped into the town willy nilly, that would be wasteful and would fail to get maximum value. Neither have I or anyone else suggested that there is any plan to spend money elsewhere in England or Wales, our objects are worded in that way so that we can maintain charity status and are not restricted as to where a beneficial project may occur, what will be on the horizon in 20 years? We are here for the long haul and it would be a poor show if having saved the port for our children and grandchildren we make it so that they cannot extract optimal benefit because we have limited the geographic scope within which the Trust can invest and grow too narrowly.
Within the financial model that has been done are the following items which are shown to be affordable even after significant stress testing of the model:
GB£50 million as initial seed funding for regeneration projects
GB£100 million over the next 5 years for investment in port infrastructure and development
For the next 7 years sufficient profitability after all deductions to gift aid more than GB£1 million per annum to the Trust for ongoing regeneration work.
It is also anticipated that regeneration works and successful projects will generate additional income which in turn will be re-invested in additional works.
All of the above detailed sums are the subject to full due diligence and appear in the business plan that has been viewed by the banks and on which they (the banks) have based their backing of the Peoples Port Trust.
Kindly also remember that the DHB has set a mere £10 million aside for their PDCT which will not even be based in Dover but up in Whitfield. Furthermore DHB has said that it will inject approx GB£20million in shares and equivalents into the PDCT which will give an ongoing income in the future from dividends. Doing the sums here and with full knowledge of what happens to less than welcome minority share holders when it comes time to distribute dividends, the income from said shares would be significantly less than a million, very significantly.
I'm afraid that you may not have been following things properly, because you refer to the PP as if it belongs to Charlie Elphicke. It is not Charlie Elphicke's Peoples Port, it is Dover's Peoples Port. Charlie is one stakeholder among many and the ideas and concepts around the Peoples Port predate Charlie's tenure as MP, the overall port governance structure from which the P/P's current structure is entirely derived was being discussed with Gwyn Prosser when he was MP. Our current MP has certainly been our most prominent proponent and is also one of the architects of this globally significant innovation in port governance and ownership.
The People's Port Trust has made no promises that have not been costed and has certainly not promulgated any plans upon which we are not fairly certain that we can deliver. I've seen what locally owned port complexes with excellent stakeholder relationships can achieve both locally and internationally and also the sort of prosperity that can be brought into port towns and cities by port operations and value add logistics services. At least a couple of these places have a turnover similar to Dover, but a much smaller profit margin. Firmly believe that The People's Port is all about service, how we can serve our community and each other, bring more harmony to our stakeholder relationships and ensure that we have a vibrant and growing port business benefiting its local owners in perpetuity. No towers to heaven being built by us, you read more money into what has been written than anyone from the People's Port has ever mentioned. As to the longer term port infrastructure development, I refer you to my earlier post where I clearly explained how such new development would be financed.