Holyhead

The Welsh government must decide "urgently" whether businesses hit by the Holyhead port closure should be compensated, a Senedd committee has said.

Traders in Holyhead said they had seen a huge drop in footfall and earnings since the closure of the port, which sees two million passengers a year and 1,200 lorries and trailers crossing every day.

In their report published on Thursday, MSs expressed dismay at the "lack of speed and urgency" in the Welsh government response to the closure and said they wanted ministers to conduct a "lessons learned review" so Holyhead was prepared and resilient in the future.

"It is local action and cooperation between ports that prevented Holyhead's closure from being even worse for Welsh trade and the wider economy."

The transport secretary has announced a "Welsh government-led multi-stakeholder taskforce to develop a new strategy for the future of Holyhead".