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Annual Toast to the City and Port of Bristol

Bristol Shipowners’ Dinner

My Lord Mayor, Mr President, other distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for once again inviting me to join you at your annual dinner – and to propose the toast to the City and Port of Bristol.

When Tony’s invitation pops through my letterbox each year, I think how on earth will I be able to say something new on this subject - and yet thee is always something new and exciting about Bristol to dwell on for a minute or two.

Perhaps it’s because it has been such a wonderful summer that Bristol has seemed more colourful than ever this year. Kites; balloons; fireworks; magnificent tall ships sailing in for the Harbour Festival; cyclists in the Big Bike Ride; runners in the annual Half Marathon; there always seemed to be something lively and exciting to take part in or, in my case to watch, since my running and cycling days are over.

In a couple of weeks’ time, I believe we may have another great event when Concorde comes home to Bristol. I don’t know if anyone here actually got to fly on her. Sadly I didn’t and I could kick myself for not taking up the one offer I had. At the time I thought I was too busy! How stupid can you get!!!

I know she wasn’t economical or environmentally friendly, but I must confess that I loved to see her soaring off into the blue. I am glad that Bristol’s relationship with this beautiful bird is not over. She may not fly any more, but at least we’ll still be able to visit her in a museum close to where she was born.

We have a beautiful city and we are not the only people who think that. The business ‘South West Screen’ promotes Bristol as a film friendly location and they must be very successful. You can hardly turn on the TV without seeing your local swimming pool dressed up as a Police Station or without someone saying ‘Ooo that’s in Park Row’ or ‘Look there’s the Horseshoe Bend’. And of course, if we’re ever out and about in Bristol when a boat blows up or a helicopter crashes, it’s much more likely that it’s being filmed for Casualty – thank goodness - than that it’s for real.

I do think, however, that Bristol should get more glory for starring in so many films and TV series. When the little town of Romsey becomes Kings Markham for an Inspector Wexford series, it gets its name on the credits and the actors practise their Hampshire accents. The last time I saw Casualty, there was no ‘Thanks to the people of Bristol’ on the credits and not one Bristol accent – not even a phoney one. What is the point, I wonder, of everyone watching and thinking ‘What a lovely place’ if they don’t know where it is?

But, attractive as Bristol is, we all know that it is not just a pretty face. We live in a hard-working city. Our unemployment is low and our productivity second only to that of London. Our high-tech industries are well-served by the top level research of our two excellent universities. The City of Bristol College continues to be popular and successful. And Filton College, too, keeps on expanding and attracting students from a wide area. I know that, technically, many of these industries, one of these universities and Filton College are not in Bristol but I am including them because they’re in my constituency and, because everyone from outside thinks they’re in Bristol anyway.

And this year we have other educational achievements to celebrate as well. Our secondary schools have started on the road of much needed improvement and their results now show this. Earlier this year, I went to the launch of the Bristol Campus. Despite all our achievements, we have too few students staying on in full-time education after 16, particularly from the less advantaged areas of the city. This new venture – the Bristol Campus – is a partnership between schools, colleges and the providers of work-based learning and should mean that all 16 – 19 year olds get a good range of choices in quality educational opportunities wherever they live in Bristol.

And still thinking of young people – you know how they always say there’s nothing to do. Well, just this week work has started on the site behind Temple Meads for a £40million arena. I’m not sure how many of us here tonight have been longing for a 10,000 seat arena to lure the top pop and rock bands to Bristol, but I’m sure we’ll agree that for a long time Bristol has needed a large venue for major events. Now we need only wait until 2008 and we will have one!

In the meantime, I am more than happy to spend my spare evenings at one of our several excellent theatres. After a few years of looking a little tired, the Old Vic is perking up now, and credit for this must go to its new director David Farr who won a Best Director award this year for his production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. And at least as exciting, to my mind, are the magnificent and lively productions put on at the Tobacco Factory in Bedminster - everything from Shakespeare to the play about the local Tobacco industry. The night I saw it I think there were quite a few of the original Wills’s Girls in the audience!

And what of the Port?
It continues to be the fastest growing Port in the UK – with trade now around 11 million tonnes, compared to the 4 million tonnes handled in 1991 when the new management took over. The turnover has gone up from £20m to £60m. And the number of employees has grown to 550 – all gainfully employed, I am happy to say.

The major investments have been the new terminal to handle Aviation Fuel imports at Portbury, and the Fresh Produce terminal at S Shed in Avonmouth.

The Aviation fuel is for the regional airports at Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, and also for Heathrow. The project is a joint venture between Bristol Port Company, the Oil and Pipelines Agency and Q8 Aviation. The first ship arrived in May, and the Port tells me it is confident that the first year’s throughput will be a million tonnes. Who would have thought, a few years back, that we would be building a seventh Cape-size berth at Portbury? (And incidentally, as well as the fastest growing Port in the UK, we also have the fasted growing regional airport.)

The new chill store at Avonmouth has been built to re-introduce fruit and vegetable cargoes to Bristol – it can handle some 8000 pallets in 9 cells, with temperatures between minus 1 and 12 degrees . And already there has been success with Chilean and South African produce.

There have also been private investments – particularly the European Orange Juice Terminal at Avonmouth, and the Remix Dry Mortar facility opened in July.

We look forward to these developments adding to the Port’s existing trades:

a) there is a new 5 year agreement with Grainfarmers UK for home grown grain exports at Portbury
b) container numbers are increasing at Portbury – with the now established deep-sea South Africa-Europe Container Service carrying motor cars, chilled produce and general cargo
c) Grimaldi boxes from the Mediterranean are also an important element. Avonmouth containers last month included the first vessel from MacAndrews on a weekly service from Spain and Western France. Seawheel and Suardiaz now run 3 ships per week to Northern Spain, while Seawheel operates 3 sailings per week to Waterford.
d) And power station coal, liquid cargoes, cars and forest products continue to show healthy growth. Indeed cars once again broke records with 400,000 units in and 100,000 out.

So there can be no doubt we have a successful Port and a vibrant City - and much of the credit for both is due to many of the people in this room tonight. I am sure you will be happy to join me in a toast to the Port and the City of Bristol.