A WIDE-ranging, in-depth survey on the commercial impact the port of Southampton makes on the local economy and business life is now under way in the city.

Southampton docks is one of the fastest growing ports in Europe and it has been estimated that port related activity generates up to £1.6 billion every year although the city is now having to face up a future without the proposed container terminal at Dibden Bay after the government turned down the planning application.

The research is being carried out as part of the European Union funded project, NEW EPOC, ReNEWing Economic Prosperity for Port Cities, in which Southampton City Council is the lead partner.

Also including maritime hubs in Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Russia, NEW EPOC aims to identify the contribution ports make to cities across the EU.

A spokesman for the project said: "We need to know more about business links with the port in order to understand the economic impact of the port on the city.

"By finding out more about these relationships we will be better placed to focus business support and resources where these are most needed.

"As an initial step we need to know how many local businesses work within the port of Southampton or are economically reliant on the city's docks.''

The survey is anxious to hear from commercial organisations who are port based, work side-by-side with an operation in the docks and trade with the vessels that call at Southampton.

"We want to learn how much business revenue is produced from activity related to any of these connections and by what per cent revenue from this source will increase or decrease in the next five years,'' said the NEW EPOC spokesman.

For more information about the survey contact The Environment Centre, 14-15 Brunswick Place, Southampton, SO15 2AQ or ring 023 8033 6191.