News of a new cargo terminal was welcomed with caution by MP, Charlie Elphicke.

He said: “This shows how much things have changed.

“When I was elected the port was about to be sold off.

“Now the harbour board is creating new jobs and that is really welcome.

“New jobs should be high paid and not low paid, low skill jobs.”

The development means a shift in the way the Port of Dover
functions, by increasing ferry berth capacity in the Eastern Docks through the transfer of the cargo operation to the west.

This was praised by Mr Elphicke, who added: “The move of cargo from the Eastern Docks to the Western Docks is also welcomed.

“Now we need to go forward in making Dover a community led port.”

The prospect of 600 jobs and 140 roles sustained through the port was also warmly received by Labour’s parliamentary candidate, Clair Hawkins.

She said:“This is fantastic news for the future of Dover and Deal.

“We should get behind it and make sure it happens.“We can’t take another failed regeneration plan for Dover.

“But we must also make sure this delivers decent jobs and decent opportunities for local people and doesn’t add to the scourge of zero-hours contract, temporary and insecure work that so many people get trapped into.”

Liberal Democrat parliamentary hopeful Sarah Smith said Dover Harbour Board had given the town “a real flip”.

Mrs Smith said: “The board are to be congratulated. This is the sort of project that Dover’s current Member of Parliament, Charlie Elphicke, should be getting right behind.

“It is exactly the sort of collaborative and ambitious initiative I would welcome.”

She added: “The board has not said how it will fund the project but I will certainly throw my weight behind efforts to secure the investment needed.

“It may require a change to the rules governing the port’s trust structure to enable joint ventures and other inward investment.”

To see the full report, read this week's Dover Mercury, out today.