Welsh Government’s delay on Freeport bid lets rivals forge ahead
Dros ddau ddegawd diwethaf mae cymunedau ledled Gogledd Cymru wedi dioddef dirywiad economaidd na ddylid fod wedi caniatáu iddo ddigwydd erioed. Mae gan Ynys Môn, yn benodol, un o’r gwerth ychwanegol crynswth isaf yn y Deyrnas Unedig a gorddibyniaeth ar dwristiaeth.
Over the past two decades communities across North Wales have endured an economic decline that should never have been allowed to happen. Anglesey, in particular, has one of the lowest gross value added (GVA) in the United Kingdom and an over-reliance on tourism.
Ours is a region of vast economic potential and I believe that after 20 years of devolved government and economic management in Wales this economic malaise is unforgivable.
The UK Government was elected on a promise to level up the UK economy.
This means it will be investing in regions throughout the United Kingdom that have fallen behind economically. As your MP my priority is to secure investment and new highskilled, long-term jobs for our island and so I am hugely excited by the UK Government’s levelling up agenda and the opportunities it offers for Anglesey and North Wales.
The fruits of this policy and my desire to achieve these aims can already be seen with the government’s proposed £4.8 million investment in a Hydrogen Hub on Anglesey.
But we need more, and a central pillar of the levelling up agenda is the creation of at least ten Freeports across the UK. Leaving the EU has given the Government the freedom to create a Freeport model that suits the UK’s need, and at least one of its new Freeports will be in Wales and decided on by the Welsh Government.
The new Freeport structure is a way to capitalise on the potential of our post-Brexit Union. Areas with the lower import and export duties and procedures of Freeports will attract new business and investment because the local cost of production will reduce. This is great for stimulating enterprise of all kinds.
Moving in this direction would take the emphasis on the Port of Holyhead from that of a mere conduit to a hub for exciting development and regeneration across Anglesey. It would dilute local dependence on freight merely travelling through the port and focus it instead on freight that is destined for local manufacture with the added value that will bring to the local supply chain.
Under the UK Government’s model, a Freeport can include more than one site over a sizeable area, which means that it could bring investment and new jobs and opportunities to communities across our island, not just Holyhead. Anglesey is the perfect location for a Freeport.
The economic opportunities are clear and this is an opportunity for the Welsh Government to deliver economic regeneration and reverse two decades of decline.
At the Welsh Affairs Select Committee on 4th March I had the opportunity to question the First Minister Mark Drakeford about why the Welsh Government has not yet launched their process. He voiced concerns that Freeports could potentially draw, or displace, businesses and investment from other areas. His argument being that this could inadvertently cause economic decline elsewhere resulting in no net economic benefit. However, this argument makes no sense. The risk to the economies of individual towns across North Wales does not come from making Anglesey a Freeport.
Indeed, a Freeport on Anglesey would offer the promise of improved connectivity and supply chain benefits throughout the North Wales corridor. It would bring wealth, not decline.
No, the real risk to North Wales comes instead from Liverpool – just 90 miles away from Holyhead.
Liverpool’s Freeport already has a four-month head start on Anglesey. By delaying the Welsh Freeport process, the Welsh Government is giving Liverpool an opportunity to forge ahead displacing business and investment from North Wales.
A Welsh Government with vision, should be encouraging Anglesey to pursue its Freeport ambitions.
It should be encouraging our island to use its Freeport status to become a centre of green energy innovation - manufacturing and exporting green energy technology around the world.
I want a Freeport in Wales and I want it on Anglesey. I will work with anyone and everyone to achieve this. I do not care about the politics - I only care about what is best for Anglesey.
I am determined that we seize this opportunity; I set up the Anglesey Freeport Bidding Consortium in November 2020 to work on a bid. The group includes the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, Stena and Anglesey Council. I am hugely proud that it also includes Bangor University, making Anglesey the only Freeport bid to include a university. We continue this work as committed organisations and people who want the best for our island.
I am making a public stance here and now to ask the Welsh Government not to prevaricate and procrastinate any further, but to open the Welsh Freeport bidding process before the Port of Liverpool sucks the life out of North Wales.
If you would like to find out more information about Freeports, the Anglesey Freeport Bidding Consortium or get involved – please contact me via my website www.virginiacrosbie.co.uk/Freeport
Finally, I really want to reach out to all corners of our island so please get in touch if you would like me to talk to your local community group, charity or school or to share your ideas as to how we can work together for the benefit of Anglesey. You can also sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter, listen to my weekly Môn FM update every Friday at 8pm, book a surgery appointment and see regular updates on my Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Yn olaf, rydw i wir eisiau estyn allan i bob cornel o’n hynys felly cysylltwch os hoffech i mi siarad â’ch grŵp cymunedol, elusen neu ysgol leol neu i rannu’ch syniadau ynghylch sut y gallwn weithio gyda’n gilydd er budd o Ynys Môn. Gallwch hefyd gofrestru ar gyfer fy e-gylchlythyr misol am ddim, gwrando ar fy niweddariad wythnosol Môn FM bob dydd Gwener am 8pm, archebu apwyntiad cymorthfa a gweld diweddariadau rheolaidd ar fy Facebook, Instagram a LinkedIn.
19 Stryd Stanley, Caergybi,
LL65 1HG
19 Stanley Street, Holyhead,
LL65 1HG 01407644645 virginia.crosbie.mp@parliament.uk
www.virginiacrosbie.co.uk