Hunterston Parc Campaigners objected to an
LNG terminal Peel proposed for
Hunterston Parc,
Largs. The scheme included a combined cycle gas turbine power station; deep water port; facilities for oil rig decommissioning; a site for the recycling and storage of plastics, and dredging 2.4 million cubic metres of seabed. No
environmental impact assessment was provided for the development.
Hunterston fatality Peel's Clydeport business was fined £5,000 in 2001 following a shore side fatality at
Hunterston Terminal. The prior year it paid a £7,500 fine for an earlier incident.
Flying Phantom In 2014, Peel's Clydeport business pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches and was fined £650,000 following a triple fatality.
River Clyde tug
Flying Phantom capsized in the 2007 incident. Judgement found there had been
systematic failure in risk assessments and safe systems of work. The charges also related to a similar incident involving the
tug in 2000.
Fracking collusion In 2014, high level collusion was found between Peel, police and a council. Documents revealed
Salford Council,
IGas Energy,
Greater Manchester Police and Peel were sharing intelligence during
anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss.
Excessive influence In 2013, a report by
Liverpool think-tank ExUrbe criticised Peel's excessive influence on affairs and development in the Liverpool region, claiming Peel "blurred the boundaries between public and private interests".
Tax evasion In June 2013,
Margaret Hodge, Chair of the
Public Accounts Committee, accused Peel of
tax dodging, and explained some parts of the group pay on average 10%
Corporation Tax, and the more profitable ones paid no tax at all.
HMS Plymouth In 2006 Peel required the
Warship Preservation Trust to leave their
Birkenhead premises. The trust was unable to find an alternative location for its vessels and shut down.
HMS Plymouth remained berthed and Peel took possession. In 2014, campaigners disputed the legality of those ownership rights. The group accused the port of allowing the ship's condition to worsen in order to make any attempt to move/preserve her appear unfeasible. The campaigners were also critical of the way the subsequent sale of the vessel to
Turkey for scrap was conducted.
Marine Terminals industrial action In 2009, following redundancies (layoffs) at Peel's Marine Terminals Ltd subsidiary in
Dublin, and eight weeks of
industrial action, strikers seized the cargo handling company's control room. In co-ordinated action, Dutch
FNV Union occupied the headquarters of sister subsidiary BG Freight's head office in
Rotterdam. Peel had hired private security firm
Control Risks to police their Dublin facility.
MV Francop During unloading of the
MV Francop at Peel's Dublin container port a sailor was crushed to death. During the 2018 incident a stack of four
cargo containers was lifted off the vessel with a crane, resulting in the bottom container parting from the stack and falling onto the sailor. It was alleged against Peel's subsidiary Marine Terminals Ltd that there was no appropriate planning, instruction, communication and supervision of the method to insert a missing deck lock under the bottom container in the stack.
Warrington traffic In 2014,
Warrington Council accused Peel's
Manchester Ship Canal of "self interest" and prioritising canal users rather than vehicle traffic in its operation of
swing bridges over the canal. The council and canal operator subsequently announced they would work together. Residents were particularly concerned about the situation when the
M6 Thelwall Viaduct had to be closed for maintenance, leaving no alternative route locally across the canal.
Land hoarding In his 2019 book
Who Owns England,
Guy Shrubsole describes Peel as one of the 'secretive' companies that "hoards England's land" and has made significant impacts, good and bad, on the environment and people's lives:
World Heritage loss In July 2021, the
World Heritage Committee cited the development of
Liverpool Waters as a reason for the revocation of Liverpool's
World Heritage status. Peel Ports have insisted that their "willingness to invest in the harbour remains steadfast". The situation has been made worse since the closure by Peel Ports of the harbour's other berth in February 2024 due to safety concerns, meaning that relief vessel
MV Alfred cannot operate from Ardrossan. Peel Ports were criticised by then-CalMac CEO Robbie Drummond for allowing the berth "to remain in a state of disrepair". Since the arrival of
Glen Sannox and the ongoing presence of
Alfred on the route, ferry services have operated to
Troon in
South Ayrshire, causing longer journey times and reduced sailing frequency. In early 2025, the
Scottish Government announced that they were considering buying Ardrossan Harbour due to the lengthy delay in agreeing the upgrade project between themselves, Peel Port, and
North Ayrshire Council. In May 2025, there was criticism from campaigners due to slow progress in the potential harbour buyout process, with the situation being described as a "stalemate". Peel Ports accused the Scottish Government ferry agency,
Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMAL), of not engaging with them with sufficient "pace and energy". ==References==