UK govt announces plan to accelerate trade in key port areas

There are currently twelve Freeports in Great Britain: eight in England, two in Wales and two in Scotland.

“The successful Freeports policy introduced in 2021 is already empowering strategically located port communities to realise their economic potential – and in just two years, has attracted almost £3 billion of investment which will create over 6,000 jobs. The new Freeports Delivery Roadmap will help Freeports to go even further by laying out an action plan of over 50 cross-government measures,” the Department for Business and Trade, and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said in a joint press release.

The new cross-government measures include a £150 million Investment Opportunities Fund to help Freeports and Investment Zones respond quickly to land large investment opportunities as they arise.

The plan also extends the window to claim special tax reliefs in English Freeport sites from five years to ten – securing a whole decade of growth for port communities.

Under the roadmap, the UK Infrastructure Bank will work with Freeports to finance upgrades to infrastructure, including through flexible loans to local authorities and debt, equity or guarantees to private sector investors.

For skills and workforce access, the roadmap will ensure joint working between Freeports, Institutes of Technology and local colleges, and linking local jobseekers to opportunities at Freeports through Jobcentre Plus.

For investment promotion, the plan aims to bring government departments together to look at targeted interventions where Freeports face barriers to investment. It will also create an independent advisory panel for Freeports, to increase the business voice within the programme.

According to the Departments, the appeal of Freeports is becoming increasingly evident, having already unlocked significant investments including £175 million from Siemens Gamesa to expand its offshore wind blade manufacturing facility in Humber, £150 million from ScottishPower to develop a project with Hutchison Ports exploring the development and construction of a multi-hundred MW green hydrogen production facility at Port of Felixstowe, and £130 million from Associated British Ports at the Port of Southampton, for a shore power project and terminal operating system in support of the automotive sector.

Some of the measures outlined in the Freeports Delivery Roadmap also apply to Investment Zones, which are boosting productivity and growth in areas in need of levelling up.

Together, Freeports and Investment Zones are forming a network of economic hotbeds across the country designed to stimulate private investment into high-potential places, providing more high-priority jobs for local people and levelling up the economy. 

The UK Government will work with the devolved administrations to agree how the 10-year window to claim reliefs can be extended across Freeports in Scotland and Wales.

“We are already seeing the vast and undeniable opportunities that Freeports are bringing, having brought in almost £3 billion of investment, which will create thousands of long-term jobs in sectors of the future.

“Our action plan in the Freeports Delivery Roadmap will maximise the potential of these communities to become centres of innovation and investment, with clear delivery timeframes to ensure rapid progress.

“Our goal is to improve lives for local people in areas historically overlooked and Freeports are helping us achieve that, Minister for Levelling Up Jacob Young said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)