East Yorks Mayor raise concerns about future of Vivergo Fuels plant
It's the UK’s largest bioethanol plant
Mayor Luke Campbell has visited the UK’s largest bioethanol plant amidst fears the plant may have to shut down within days.
The Vivergo Fuels plant at Saltend Chemicals Park, east of Hull, is the largest of its kind in the UK, however the plant’s owners have warned that without government intervention it will be forced to close down.
Vivergo Fuels say that the US-UK trade deal announced last month will be disastrous for the UK’s bioethanol industry as the deal includes the removal of a 19 per cent tariff on ethanol imports from the US.
They've been campaigning for weeks hoping for government action, this include workers from the site visited Parliament earlier this week to speak to local MPs.
To show support for the campaign, the Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, met with Mr Hackett and received a tour of the site.
Mr Campbell said “it’s madness that we even have to have this conversation,” and went on to describe the US-UK trade deal as “a bad deal for British industry.”
In response to Vivergo Fuels’ concerns, a Government spokesperson said:
“We signed a deal with the US in the national interest to secure thousands of jobs across key sectors.
“We are now working closely with the industry to understand the impacts of the UK-US trade deal on the UK’s two bioethanol companies and are open to discussion over potential options for support.
“The Business Secretary has met members of the bioethanol sector and senior officials continue to consider what options may be available to support the impacted companies.”