The Humber Freeport has been given the all-clear to launch.
Together with Teesside and Thames models, the first tax sites can start to operate from next month, the Chancellor has confirmed.
One of eight confirmed in the Spring Budget, the go-ahead was documented in the Treasury’s Budget Report, the 'red book' laid before the House of Commons when Rishi Sunak got to his feet on Wednesday. A further £230 million for the country's continued push on offshore wind was also included.
Read more: What the Autumn Budget has brought to Yorkshire and the Humber
Humber was recognised as the leading bid, submitted with Associated British Ports heading it.
Port director, Simon Bird, chairs the steering company. He said: “It is fantastic news, great news for the Humber.
“The opportunities the freeport will bring, with two tax zones approved and a third which will come through, are fantastic and enable us to go on with all that decarbonisation offers to the North and South Bank through offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture, alongside the manufacturing.
"We are front and centre of the decarbonisation strategy, the Humber represents the biggest opportunity and freeports are hugely supportive of schemes working towards that."
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He said interest was strong, with the confirmation received making it an even stronger case to present as an investment opportunity, as highlighted by one company already
“We have the company, Pensana, having already announced its intention to develop a rare earths processing complex, confident in the delivery of a freeport.
“They can see the benefits freeport will bring, and that’s the Humber winning over other sites in the 海角视频 because they had the belief. We landed a very compelling bid in front of the government, and I couldn’t be more delighted.
“A lot of work has gone into this opportunity, and the private and public sector really got after it, to really maximise it, and I can assure everyone we are doing just that.
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“The local authority stakeholders have been magnificent in their support.”
Special mention was given to Cleethorpes and Immingham MP Martin Vickers, who chaired the all party parliamentary group on freeports, keeping up a constant dialogue.
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In the first wave the two tax sites approved are East Hull (Port of Hull and Siemens Gamesa's wind blade manufacturing facility, Saltend, the Humber International Enterprise Park and the Yorkshire Energy Park) and Humber Southbank (Port of Immingham and Able Marine Energy Park.
The Goole tax site is described as "still making good progress" and is anticipated in the next wave.
North East Lincolnshire Council is to be the accountable body, with chief executive Rob Walsh, delighted at it being "go for the Humber Freeport", describing it as a "massive pan Humber effort to get this over the line, underpinned by cracking collaboration between Associated British Ports and the four Humber local authorities".
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of NELC, said: "The go-ahead for the freeports is great news for the whole Humber area. The Government backing is a huge step forward, and through the freeport work, will provide long-term opportunities for jobs and growth.
“We all need to play our part to decarbonise our whole 海角视频 economy, and the Humber bid will be supportive of schemes and projects that do just that – a great bonus for our North East Lincolnshire that’s already leading the way in offshore wind.”
Leader of Hull City Council, Cllr Daren Hale, said: “We are proud of our record in attracting new investment and quality jobs in the rapidly emerging low carbon sector and we are equally proud to be in the vanguard of using the Government’s fiscal devolution incentives to deliver significant growth and a step-change in Hull’s economy, resulting in real career prospects for our people.
“Our record in developing out our enterprise zones has been second to none and we are focused on re-investing the resultant business rate uplift into initiatives such as the Employment Hub in the Central Library, which is creating tangible opportunities for local residents in our expanding local economy.”
A total of 7,000 jobs have been eyed as part of the opportunity , with custom zones locations across the patch - including the four main ports - with three new tax sites highlighted for land east of Port of Hull, Goole and Able Marine Energy Park at North Killingholme.
Significant seed capital resources to ensure the benefits of freeport status are felt across all four Humber local authority areas, including at the South Humber Industrial Investment Project site between Grimsby and Immingham, are also part of it.
Welcoming the confirmation, Peter Stephenson, executive chairman of Able Group, said: “This is another important and significant milestone in the process of bringing the Able Marine Energy Park to fruition. This follows on from the strong interest from a number of manufacturers and the public commitments already made by SeAH, the Korean monopile manufacturer and by GRI the Spanish producer of offshore wind towers. All recognise the significance of the combined benefits of a bespoke state-of-the-art facility coupled with the extensive incentives offered by Freeport Tax Site status.
"Delivering the wider Humber Freeport represents a significant achievement for the area and is a tribute to the combined efforts of local authorities, the two LEPS, a selection of landowners and the team that have led the process.”
The first phase of AMEP works will see the development of up to 536 acres of land and the construction of 1,349m of heavy-duty, deep-water quays, to develop a bespoke facility to serve the needs of the offshore wind sector. It is hoped 1,500 people will be employed by 2030, with the figure doubled in the immediate supply chain.
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