Making the Humber a freeport will boost regional jobs and the UK economy as a whole - Stephen Parnaby

The bidding coalition formed by ABP, who operate the four ports of Goole, Grimsby, Hull, and Immingham, includes the two Local Enterprise Partnerships of Humber and Greater Lincolnshire, along with the four local authorities of Hull, East Riding, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, who have formed a partnership with businesses from across the region.

This coalition has submitted a bold and compelling proposition for the Government to consider – but also one which is entirely practical, achievable and which can provide clear benefits to UK PLC.

If the Government is committed to its plan to level up the North, then a Freeport is exactly what an area like the Humber – an industrial heartland home to four major ports and the highest-emitting industrial cluster in the country – should be benefiting from.

The Humber is already home to the UK’s busiest port complex including the four aforementioned major ports – which combined handle around 17 per cent of the nation’s trade.

The Humber Ports play a vital role as strategic assets in the fabric of the nation, handling the materials that supply 10 per cent of the nation’s energy, 25 per cent of the UK’s fuel for our vehicles, almost a third of our national timber supply and underpin the farming, food, retail, construction, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors across the UK.

The submission is focused on how a Freeport in our region could support advanced low carbon manufacturing and high-quality new jobs, and therefore accelerate growth within our region.

Not only this, but there are opportunities to bolster trade for our region post-Brexit.

With those granted Freeport status benefiting from generous tax reliefs, simplified customs procedures and wider government support, this could provide a welcome jobs boost and would align with the LEP’s priorities to maximise opportunities for the Humber ports.

Also as part of the proposals, three key sites covering both banks of the Humber have been earmarked for tax incentives that will incentivise growth in new manufacturing, research and development and green energy jobs.

One site is located to the east of the Port of Hull, one site is located on development land in Goole and the third on the Able Marine Energy Park in Killingholme.

In the short term, levelling up the North through the implementation of a Freeport in the Humber region could provide new industry, employment and training opportunities which

will be needed as part of the Covid-19 recovery – but longer term there are many multi-faceted benefits Freeports can also help to deliver.

If we can capitalise on this opportunity, and be successful in our bid, helping the Humber to decarbonise will help the UK to meet its decarbonisation goal as a whole – while post-Brexit trade improvements made in the Humber will also provide a boost to the UK’s economy overall.