Govt approves Liverpool City Region Freeport status
New tax and customs rules aimed at boosting economic growth have come into force after Whitehall approved a plan that could provide an £850m boost to local communities.
Stretching from Wirral Waters to Port Salford, Liverpool Freeport will now receive up to £25m of seed funding from the government to get the initiative off the ground.
Freeports are specially designated economic zones where usual tax and customs rules do not apply, to encourage import, export and other commercial activity.
As the country’s largest transatlantic port, handling 45% of trade from the US, Liverpool is well-placed to take advantage of freeport status.
“Today is a historic day for Liverpool and for the whole of UK, as the Liverpool City Region Freeport is officially fully up and running,” said levelling up minister Dehenna Davison.
“Liverpool Freeport will be a gateway to international markets, drawing investment into communities that have often been overlooked.
“We are maximising the opportunities of leaving the European Union to drive growth and boost innovation and investment in the UK.”
The Port of Liverpool operated under freeport status until freeports were abolished in 2012 by the then-coalition government.
The approval of the business case to reinstate Liverpool as a freeport comes almost two years after the city region learned it had been re-awarded the special status.
Then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed Liverpool would be made a freeport as part of the 2021 Budget alongside East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich, Humber, Plymouth and South Devon, Solent, Teesside, and the Thames.
Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “The establishment of the Liverpool City Region Freeport has the potential to help our drive to attract international investment, create more well-paid, highly skilled jobs for local people and build on our existing strengths and promote our international competitiveness.
“It is estimated that the freeport will add £850m to the local economy and contribute towards our plans to boost research and development and target green technologies to help us reach net zero by 2040 at the latest.”
Steven Underwood, chief executive of Port of Liverpool owner The Peel Group, said: “This is great news for the Liverpool City Region, and we’re pleased that several of our key investments – Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Port Salford, Wirral Waters and the Manchester Ship Canal – are part of this globally significant Freeport to accelerate levelling up through regeneration, inward investment and job creation.”
“We are maximising the opportunities of leaving the European Union to drive growth and boost innovation and investment in the UK.” – thats a joke, Port of Liverpool has traded with the rest of the world for hundreds of years, and continued to while in the EU, and with EU funding regenerating Liverpool when the UK government wasn’t interested. There are no brexit benefits, look at Germany – the second biggest global exporter and an EU member with the majority of its goods being shipped out of Rotterdam.
By GetItBuilt!
Very welcome news, lets hope all the hype transpires and it could be of great benefit for Liverpool Airport which is also in the Freeport area.
By Liverpolitis
Fantastic news
By Anonymous
Done properly this could be a massive boost for the area and the port especially, however if there is a boom there is still the matter of road and rail connectivity for Liverpool.
There has to be a decision on improving access for lorries and the Rimrose Valley link road needs to be decided one way or the other, meanwhile rail connection at the moment is less than average so will we see improvements here too?
By Anonymous
What will they be exporting from here? SMEs are trading with the EU directly by opening distribution centres in the mainland to avoid the red tape. Doesn’t this put other UK ports at a disadvantage by offering gov subsidies to one port.
By Anonymous
The EU never stopped the UK from having free ports. There are free ports in the EU. There were free ports in the UK until 2012 including Liverpool, when UK legislation establishing them expired. There are no Brexit dividends.
By Dom
Let’s not get too excited. £850m judt about balances what Governments of varying colours have either stolen FROM or promised and Failed to Deliver to Liverpool, starting with the “solemn promise” to assist with the cost of rebuilding the docks which were destroyed in the Blitz of 1941. Don’t hold your bteath waiting for this one …
By Paul McDermott
Game changer, world class, come on Liverpool, Yakka Dee!
By Anderson Andres
All it is is that Liverpool will go back a hundred odd years: just a warehouse without merchant seamen. Also, I’d like to see a sign outside port Salford that says: either Liverpool City Region or Liverpool Freeport
By George
These are the freeports that could have also been set up whilst in the EU?
By Levelling Up Manager
Inspite of accurate comments about zero benefits of brexit ( actually liverpool has lost out cos of massive loss of grant funding .) however still a real benefit especially given links to USA and the natural links to industry in midlands , north and Scotland . Already some investment coming into the Freeport area via logistics etc . Strongly agree however transport links via rail and road ( Rimrose long delayed ) needs to be sorted to take full advantage
By George
Terrific news, LCR and Manchester are a strategic gateway and it’s about time they were supported.
By TJL
@George no this is a big deal
By Anonymous
Wonder if the Freeport status can be a positive in attracting a private company in constructing a cruise liner terminal at the Pierhead, there is no real to have the terminal in the river, so that would save money, and instead it could be built on the site of the proposed hotel and take up 2 floors, meanwhile the hotel building, of say 10 floors, could be sited over the cruise terminal, thus 12 floors in total.
By Anonymous
Dom forgets that joining the EU was detrimental to our West coast ports. It is a sad state of affairs when some village in Suffolk has more cargo than somewhere as internationally famous as Liverpool.
By Elephant
All been done before except I don’t think it included Port Salford last time. Just more government spin signifying very little.
By Anonymous