If you want to see a place where the consequences of Wales leaving the European Union are the most physically visible, you may wish to visit the town of Holyhead. On the edge of Anglesey, where many ferries cross the Irish Sea and connect Wales to Ireland, a substantial new border control post now stands as a white elephant, which cost the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds. The Holyhead border control post at Parc Cybi was originally constructed as part of the UK’s new post-Brexit border regime. Its purpose was to inspect animals, food, plants and other goods travelling to and from Ireland, to ensure that the United Kingdom could enforce the mandatory sanitary and phytosanitary inspections, as a result of Wales and the UK leaving the European Union in 2020.
Now, as Britain and the European Union have agreed to closer cooperation through revised trade deals to reduce delays, red tape and economic uncertainty, the building may turn out to have been largely unnecessary. Millions have been spent on building a large facility that has not been staffed or used at all for the purpose for which it was built. As of September 2026, the site has been practically left vacant.
The frictionless trade of the past
Before Brexit, goods moving between Ireland and the UK benefited from participation in the EU’s single market and customs union. The Irish Sea was, in simple terms, a commercial bridge inside the same European regulatory system, allowing simple, frictionless trade. Brexit changed this drastically. Over time, more red tape began emerging for many businesses wishing to import and export between the UK and the European single market.
The Welsh Labour Government identified suitable land at Parc Cybi, Holyhead for a new permanent border control post, and the project was described by ministers as a consequence of the UK’s departure from the EU. As the then Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths MS stated:
“We were clear of the consequences of leaving the Single Market and Customs Union, and we must now ensure that the Welsh ports are prepared for the changes which will be introduced.”
The £51mn price tag
In February 2024, the Welsh Government announced that it had signed the main construction contract. Preparatory works had already begun in April 2023, with the main contract following later. The facility was expected to be completed and fully staffed by the summer of 2025. The price tag was substantial, because by the end of the 2024-25 financial year, £44mn had been provided by HM Treasury to construct the post, while £7mn was provided by the Welsh Government’s coffers for the project’s development.
Brexit according to its champions, was supposed to make life easier. As its real impact came to fruition however, the inevitable buyers’ remorse kicked in amongst many who had supported Brexit back in 2016. Campaigners, businesses and pro-European organisations, such as Wales for Europe and the European Movement UK have mounted a sustained effort to repair the damage. As public opinion shifted, and businesses made their voices heard, a change in direction was announced by the government in Westminster.
A change in direction but no practical change in policy
After very positive talks with the EU, the UK government announced a Common Understanding in May 2025, opening fresh negotiations towards a proposal for the common sanitary and phytosanitary area. Local businesses such as Halen Môn (Anglesey Sea Salt) in Brynsiencyn and Seiont Nurseries near Caernarfon, who had complained that their exports to the EU had been greatly hindered by Brexit were looking forward to this new agreement. If implemented, such an arrangement would remove the need for much of the red tape which Holyhead’s new post has been constructed to handle. The Welsh Government responded to this “common understanding” and decided not to proceed with the final commissioning and staffing of it. The building would remain available as a potential facility, but it would not be put into operation as originally planned.
More than a year later, the UK government has not reached a new agreement with the EU, and the building still remains empty. In other words, £51mn of public money was spent on preparing for border checks which quickly became unnecessary. Unless the Welsh or UK governments find a reason to staff the facility, it remains an embarrassing white elephant and a monument to bad policy. The empty facility is proving to be an enormous waste of public funds at a time of great financial pressure. This could have been avoided If the UK had not left the single market and customs union, or if the Tory government had agreed to a more positive post-Brexit deal in which an SPS had been put in place when we left the EU.
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