AMBITION READY TO BEHIND THE ‘FREEPORTS’ TURBO-CHARGE BRITAIN
RISHI Sunak says his plans to open freeports around the UK will turbo-charge the economy out of the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Express, the Chancellor said the new tax-free hubs will create thousands of jobs, and his plans will regenerate some of Britain’s poorest communities and help create centres of innovation.
His comments come after the Sunday Express was given plans for the Thames Freeport bid which aims to “bring back the glory days” of the Thames and London as the world’s pre-eminent trading and shipping hub.
The plan, backed by Dubai’s DP World, Forth Ports and motor manufacturer Ford, is one of a number of freeport bids in England being lodged with the Government, with ministers deciding which ones should go ahead in the spring.
Mr Sunak wants at least seven sites to be approved, with the Thames bid in east London and Kent, along with Liverpool being seen as the biggest proposals.
The Chancellor said freeports were a way for Britain to rapidly benefit from being released from EU rules and restrictions.
It will see UK ports and airports have a major competitive advantage over big ports in the EU, with Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg currently leading the way.
But with the Chancellor facing a massive black hole in Britain’s finances and a dropoff in tax revenue because of the coronavirus crisis, the freeports are also a key part of his plans to initiate a recovery.
Mr Sunak said: “As we start a new chapter in our history as an independent trading nation, we are free to support our great British industries to create a vibrant economy fit for the future.
“Our ambitious freeports policy is at the heart of this – empowering regions across the country to become hotbeds of innovation, regenerating our communities by creating thousands of jobs and turbocharging Britain’s post-brexit growth.
“In a freeport, businesses will benefit from tax incentives to boost investment, easier customs processes, and a range of other government support to trade with the world while maintaining world-leading standards for consumers and workers.
“I look forward to seeing the first freeports open for business later this year, and encourage communities including sea, air and rail ports right across England to bid for freeport status.
“Join us in levelling up opportunities in communities, creating new jobs, and turbocharging our economic recovery.”
The Thames Freeport bid was unveiled this week with the Sunday Express given exclusive access to the full
details of the proposal which will generate at least 20,000 jobs and see a £400million investment in three sites – London Gateway and the Port of Tilbury in Thurrock and Ford’s Dagenham plant.
The plan is to restore London as the world’s biggest global trade hub, a position it enjoyed until the 1960s.
The Dagenham site will also see a restoration of Ford’s motor manufacturing base which was severely reduced in the 2000s and it will become a centre of innovation for new environmentally friendly engines.
Both areas will also be examples of the Government’s levelling-up agenda for forgotten communities.
Thurrock is among the country’s top 25 most skills-deprived areas and the neighbourhoods surrounding Tilbury are among the top 10 per cent of overall deprivation.
Barking and Dagenham is ranked in the top five local authorities for poverty – the borough’s unemployment rate is 74 per cent higher than the national average.
With almost 1,000 acres of land ready for development, much with planning consent secured, the bid team claims “no other port cluster in the south of England can come close to matching our offer to deliver meaningful economic change and linked community benefits in the lifetime of this Parliament”.
A Thames Freeport spokesman said: “With the estuary’s global gateways – London Gateway and the Port of Tilbury – their substantial development areas and Ford’s Dagenham engine plant at its heart, a Thames Freeport will use the policy’s special economic measures to turbocharge the best of the private sector to level up the left-behind communities along the estuary. Speed and size matters for UK plc.
“Our speed of delivery is matched by our global connectivity, with direct shipping routes to every continent for exporters to get their goods to market at pace.”
Barking and Dagenham Council is set to give the Thames Freeport its backing on January 19.
Councillor Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “This proposal offers an outstanding opportunity to bring back the Thames to its glory days.
“It would also be another massive boost for the borough and Dagenham, which will soon be home to London’s largest film studios. The future is bright for our borough which has so often led the way in leading Britain out of economic dark times in the past.”
Michael Walton, head of regeneration strategy at Be First, Barking and Dagenham Council’s regeneration arm, said: “As part of the bidding process to create the freeport, set out by Government’s freeport Bid Prospectus, it is necessary for Barking and Dagenham Council to become an integral part of the bid. We think the freeport offers an unrivalled opportunity to secure more and better jobs along with future industries on the Ford site and dovetails with our own ambitions to place Dagenham as a dynamic digital, commercial and industrial European hub.”
‘Speed and size matters for UK plc. Our speed of delivery is matched by global connectivity’