On 13 September 2023, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group wrote to island residents to confirm that the company cannot support the Council’s latest Levelling Up Fund business case which was submitted to government on 3 September 2023. The Steamship Group also reiterated its intention to privately fund the replacement of its vessels.
This announcement comes as a major disappointment and follows many weeks of hard work and negotiation to develop a revised business case which would have seen the cost of the new vessels required being funded by government as part of its Levelling Up programme.
We are in urgent discussions with government regarding the announcement from the Steamship Group and the implications of this for Levelling Up funding awarded to the Council. We will update the community when further information becomes available.