Freeport plans to create 26k jobs
LOW TAX AREA COULD BOOST ECONOMY
A PROPOSED a freeport in the East Midlands would deliver a boost of £8.4 billion to the region’s economy and create an estimated 25,789 direct jobs, backers say.
The economic boost is expected across 25 years as a result of the plans.
It is estimated a further 30,000 indirect jobs would be created as a result of the project, improving supply chains and energising the region’s economy.
The East Midlands Freeport Board has just submitted its outline business case to the government, detailing what two Nottinghamshire MPS described as an “extremely ambitious package”.
A freeport is a low or zero-tax area, allowing businesses to import and export while avoiding tariffs and reducing red tape. The idea was created by the government to strengthen regional economies and has been backed by both Conservative and Labour MPS.
The board includes council representatives from across the region as well as universities and Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Based across three sites in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Notting“it’s hamshire, the project is designed to create tens of thousands of jobs in industries such as manufacturing, construction, distribution, logistics, transport and clean energy.
More than £2 billion will be invested into the region initially, as part of the public-private sector partnerships, supporting the development of three anchor sites at East Midlands Airport, in North West Leicestershire, near Derbyshire’s Toyota Island and at Ratcliffe-onsoar
power station. The sites are expected to become operational by March next year and will provide incentives for businesses in terms of tax levies, lower import and export tariffs and reduced business rates – making the creation of jobs more affordable.
Plans also include a skills academy that will focus on upskilling the East Midlands workforce in key industries to create high-skilled, well-paid and more productive jobs.
In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service ahead of the bid’s submission, Nottinghamshire Conservative MPS Ben Bradley and Ruth Edwards revealed more detail about the plan to make the region a “hotbed of innovation”.
“It’s worth saying that there are one million people who live within a half-hour drive of those sites, and that’s a lot of people accessing those jobs and support,” said Mr Bradley.
not just the jobs on-site but the wider supply chain. Half the jobs will be created not on the sites themselves, but around the rest of the region.”
Mrs Edwards, Rushcliffe’s MP, said the bid was focused on the region’s “industrial strengths” and would build on skills initiatives between universities and the private sector.
Loughborough-based company Intelligent Energy already has plans to develop a renewable energy Hydrogen Gigafactory at the site, leading to the creation of up to 1,000 skilled jobs.
The company has also committed to bringing its supply chain with it, generating, it said, thousands more jobs and making the region a “powerhouse for green manufacturing”.
Latest detailed analysis by the project board indicates 55,220 direct and indirect roles would be created over the 25-year lifetime of the freeport.
In that time, the board estimates the value of the region’s economy would increase by £8.4 billion.
The bid forms part of a wider regeneration project planned across the East Midlands, hooked on four major schemes: the freeport, HS2, the East Midlands Development Corporation and a potential devolution package.