“Jobs and Investment Boom: Freeports in Liverpool and East Anglia Get Government Approval”

The UK government has given the green light to two new freeports in Liverpool and East Anglia, marking the majority of English freeports as fully operational. The Freeport East and Liverpool City Region will join existing freeports in Plymouth, Solent, and Teesside as part of the government’s efforts to drive economic growth and create jobs. The new freeports are set to receive £25 million in seed funding each, on top of potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in locally retained business rates to upgrade infrastructure and stimulate regeneration in their local areas.

The move will take advantage of the benefits of leaving the European Union, offering businesses within the freeports generous tax incentives and simplified customs procedures. This is expected to attract investment and high-quality jobs to the regions. Freeport East will focus on clean energy production and estimates it will deliver thousands of new jobs and generate £5.5 billion over 10 years for the local economy. Meanwhile, Liverpool City Region will drive growth in advanced manufacturing, biomanufacturing, logistics, and low carbon industries, and estimates it will deliver thousands of new jobs and £850 million for local economies.

Industry leaders welcomed the news, with Richard Ballantyne OBE, Chief Executive of the British Ports Association, saying that the freeports “will bring new investment and new jobs to Felixstowe, Harwich and Merseyside” and Ben Murray, Maritime UK Chief Executive, added that they will “help strengthen our maritime clusters and grow our maritime sector”.