Humber Freeport: Green light for new £130m project set to create 5,500 jobs in Yorkshire region
Planning consent has been secured for a major new freeport project in Goole which developers say could create around 5,500 jobs in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Yorkshire-based Henry Boot, in partnership with St John’s College Cambridge, announced that it had secured outline planning consent for Freeport 36, a “nationally significant” industrial and logistics scheme.
It is expected that the development will create around 3,000 jobs in the local area, and 5,500 in the wider Yorkshire and Humber region.
The firms said they anticipate that the first phase of the development will deliver around £130m in gross development value. The newly won planning consent allows for the creation of a 5.5m sq ft industrial and manufacturing park, with buildings ranging from 40,000 sq ft to over 1,000,000 sq ft.
Speaking on the project, Tim Roberts, CEO at Henry Boot, said: "Manufacturing and logistics hubs are a critical part of enabling business and economic growth across the country and HBD is bringing forward another large-scale project to support commerce in the Yorkshire region.”
The wider Humber Ports complex, which includes the four major ports of Hull, Goole, Immingham and Grimsby, is the busiest port complex in the UK.
It handles approximately 17 per cent of the nation's trade and is located within a four-hour drive of about 80 per cent of the UK's population.
The new site forms part of the Humber Freeport Goole tax site, which has been officially designated following review and approval by the Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs.
Once operational, occupiers situated within the tax site will be eligible for Business Rates Relief and Enhanced Capital Allowances for investment in new plant and machinery assets.
They are also eligible for Stamp Duty Land Tax Relief on land purchases for qualifying commercial activity, and Enhanced Structures and Building Allowance for firms constructing or renovating buildings for non-residential use.
Employers operating within a Freeport also pay 0 per cent National Insurance Contributions on the salaries of eligible new employees at the site.
Suzie Wood, head of investment property at St John's College, Cambridge, said: "The approval of the planning application is an exciting step forward to delivering a state of the art Industrial and Manufacturing Park within the Freeport tax zone.
“We are excited by the potential of the park to bring new investment and jobs to the region."
Finbarr Dowling, chair of Humber Freeport, said: "This is tremendous news and is another major milestone in developing the Humber's economy.
“The locational advantages of Goole, along with its strong industrial cluster and Freeport incentives, offer end users a real competitive advantage.
“Industry leaders such as Siemens Mobility, Tesco Logistics and Guardian Glass are already located adjacent to the tax site, and have benefitted from this strategic location. The future of this site is very exciting."
Henry Boot’s property investment and development arm, HBD, first became involved in the project in 2023 before submitting an outline planning application, which subsequently gained a resolution to grant consent this month subject to the conclusion of the Section 106 agreement.
The next step will see the firm draw up detailed development plans, with the potential to start on site before the end of the year.