Last week I wrote about Gatwick and how more destinations being opened up abroad without quarantine is going to help our devastated aviation industry. Gatwick Airport is of course one of the key entrances to the UK and here in Crawley we are also not very far from the Channel ports.
Something I could never have said in January, is that it is (now) easy to forget that we are in the transition year of our independence from the European Union. This is going to mean some changes as to how our borders are managed. Last Sunday, the government announced an unprecedented £705 million investment to fund new infrastructure, jobs and technology at our GB-EU border.
This will include £470 million to build infrastructure such as border control posts, and allocating £235m for IT systems and staffing, including 500 more Border Force personnel to ensure our borders are safe and secure and that we are ready to take full advantage of our newly sovereign status.
On 1 January 2021 the transition period with the European Union will end and the UK will leave the single market and customs union, regardless of the agreement the UK reaches with the European Union on its future trade relationship. It’s good to see that the government has been working closely with industry to help them prepare for these changes and will shortly be publishing the Border Operating Model, setting out in detail how the GB-EU border will operate.
This major funding package comes ahead of the launch of a new public information campaign to ensure the UK is ready to seize global opportunities at the end of the transition period. As part of this campaign, detailed guidance will be given to traders and hauliers explaining what they may need to do to prepare for the end of the transition period.
While the rest of this year is going to be tough for Gatwick and our town, our long-term fundamentals are good. Our location near London and being a major global gateway will help us to bounce back in a post-Covid and a post-Brexit world.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
15th July 2020
