Western Morning News

Plymouth ‘free port’ bid leaves Exeter in the cold

- WILLIAM TELFORD william.telford@reachplc.com

PLYMOUTH and South Devon have submitted a joint bid to become one of the Government’s tax-break free ports and potentiall­y unlock £35 million in funds – but Exeter will not be included.

Plymouth City Council has joined with neighbours at Devon County and South Hams District Council for the bid, which was submitted to the Government before the February 5 closing date.

If successful, it would see the area become one of ten zones around the country to benefit from import and export tax reliefs with the aim of helping create jobs, growth, and innovation.

But the bid will face tough competitio­n from more than 30 others, including some of the biggest names in the UK ports sector such as Dover, Southampto­n, Felixstowe/Harwich, London Gateway/Tilbury, Hull, Port of Tyne, Teesport, Bristol, Milford Haven and Grangemout­h – and an initial plan to include Exeter, so its Covid damaged airport could be part of the free port and help it recover from lost earnings, was thwarted when the Government put a 45km limit on the zones. It is about 80km from Plymouth’s Devonport docks to Exeter Airport.

It now leaves the airport, and Exeter, out in the cold, but Plymouth and South Devon could benefit with a ‘free zone’ creating space for businesses to import goods and materials, add value to them by manufactur­e, and export them and leverage the city’s marine innovation strengths to attract marine sector technology companies. Industry giants Babcock and Princess Yachts have already backed the bid.

In the submission, the free zone would include sites at Devonport’s South Yard, Langage Energy Zone and the as-yet unbuilt Sherford Business Park next to the A38.

Estimates suggest that the zone could create more than 1,000 jobs in the first two years and up to 9,000 over the next decade, and 50 new apprentice­ships and ten internship­s every year by 2027.

Meanwhile, the councils estimate that more than 70 local businesses would benefit from the scheme, which is forecast to bring in more than £100 million in investment in over six years.

The Government is providing £17.5 million in funding for a free port, which with matched funding will become £35 million. The knockon effect would enable Devon County Council to bring forward works at the Deep Lane junction on the A38, unlocking housing at Sherford.

The recent Centre for Cities annual report identified Plymouth as the only major city in the south of England with a major levelling-up agenda to address.

The free zone could play an important part in addressing this challenge, the city council said, with deprived areas understood to be likely to receive priority in the selection process.

Tim Jones, chairman of South West Business Council, was involved in discussion­s about the free port bid from an early stage and said: “The business community has high hopes Plymouth will be successful.”

However, opponents have called the proposed free ports “mini tax havens”, lax on regulation and with the potential for profits to be siphoned off-shore with little payback for the Treasury. The British Chambers of Commerce fear they may simply shift investment from one location to another.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom