The Ferry has been closed since March after Kent County Council and Thurrock Council struggled to renew the contract with the operator.
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00:00Months have passed since it last set sail, but the fight for the future of the Tilbury
00:05Ferry rages on.
00:08The service connecting Gravesend to Essex stopped operating earlier this year as Kent
00:14County Council and Thurrock Council struggled to secure a new contract with the operator.
00:21Now the new Member of Parliament for Gravesham has written to the Secretary of State for
00:26Transport calling on her to help pave a path forward.
00:31I think what we need to be doing in the future is about how we bring together businesses,
00:36other partners, other agencies that use the river, that work on the river, as well as
00:42councils, as well as other sectors.
00:45It's really about hooking into those other links so that we can all come together to
00:49find a solution which is a return of the Tilbury Ferry and this is a strong focus and I heard
00:54it loud and clear on the doorstep, this is what we need.
00:57Our businesses have suffered, our town centres have suffered.
00:59We really need this back to really take things forward.
01:02The Gravesend model centre has been on the high stream for six years, but with sales
01:08taking up to a 15% hit since the ferry's closure, they wonder how long they can roll the dice
01:16given their tight margins.
01:18We have noticed a drop in sales, we've noticed a drop in the actual people, because obviously
01:24the sales are one thing, but you get to know your customers and there's several customers
01:29who used to spend quite a lot of money who don't come over anymore, customers who just
01:33used to come in and buy one bit every now and again have not come over.
01:40If you look around the high street, the high street is really suffering.
01:43Zand and Mackenzie Care are another business who are thinking about relocating, with the
01:49ferry impacting their ability to recruit staff.
01:54They say footfall has massively changed since the ferry ceased operating in July.
02:01The whole point of us is that we're a community service.
02:04It's very difficult when the amount of community is minimalised because of again the lack of
02:09traffic walking up and down.
02:10If it was still available we would have more people walking past, we would be able to engage
02:15within the community a little bit more.
02:17We are actually looking to potentially move because of it, because again being a community
02:23based business it's very difficult when the community are unable to walk past your office.
02:29Both Thoracat and Kane County Council say they have worked hard to try and secure an
02:35extension to the contract and are still trying to secure a sustainable long term solution
02:43for the ferry.
02:44The Department of Transport has been reached for comment.
02:47The end of July will mark four months without the ferry.
02:51The question on the minds of businesses here, how much longer can they go on?
02:56Oliver leads the sacks for KNTV in Gravesend.