Ports are seeking compensation for the facilities, which were meant to carry out the government's new post-Brexit checks but have been put on hold until the end of next year.
The border control post was originally designed to carry out 50,000 physical spot checks a year on goods like meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruit and timber.
"It's costing a million pounds a year to run that was meant to be funded by the people using it - now the government says no one needs to use it. How am I meant to find a million-pound-a-year from that? It will have to come from council taxpayers here in Portsmouth," said Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth City Council.
The Cabinet Office claims the decision not to impose the new controls for now will save traders up to £1bn and help with pressures on the cost of living. But Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association, says it's all been a huge waste of money and effort. "Industry and government worked well together to build these facilities at pace to be told they're not going to be needed and potentially moving over to a completely different arrangement. We've been left with these effectively white elephants at our ports - the industry has been left reeling and we need action from government."
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