Freeport status for Southampton and Portsmouth

The sites for the eight freeports in England have been revealed as part of the Chancellor's Budget.

Rishi Sunak announced that East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, the Humber region, the Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, Solent (both Portsmouth and Southampton ports), Thames and Teesside are all set to benefit from the post-Brexit status.

Mr Sunak said the "special economic zones with different rules to make it easier and cheaper to do business'' would come with simpler planning, cheaper customs - with favourable tariffs, VAT or duties - and lower taxes, with "tax breaks to encourage construction, private investment and job creation''.

The freeport model works by allowing companies to import goods tariff-free and only paying once it is sold into the domestic market, or exporting the final goods without paying UK tariffs.

Chair of the Solent LEP, Brian Johnson said: “The Solent has a very proud maritime heritage, but we don’t live in the past.

"Today's announcement represents the start of a new era for the Solent as we begin our work with Government to create jobs, drive innovation and build sustainable, long-term opportunities now and in the future.

"The wide coalition of public and private partners brought together by the LEP puts us in the strongest possible position to bring this vision for a Solent Freeport to reality.

"As the Nation's Global Gateway, the Solent Freeport will be critical to ensuring that the UK can remain competitive on an international stage in the years ahead and the LEP is committed to ensuring that our local communities - and in particular our young people - can benefit from the opportunities created."

Councillor Barry Rickman, Solent LEP board member and leader of New Forest District Council said: “Today's announcement is fantastic news for the Solent area and our economy.

"As a coastal area, we have communities that have been very badly impacted by the pandemic and today's news represents an opportunity for us to start to recover and create much needed new jobs in those areas.

"Over the longer-term, we see the Solent Freeport as an investment in all our futures that will enable us to secure investment in new technologies, sectors and environmental innovation. We look forward to working with Government over the coming months to further develop the Solent Freeport for the benefit of our local businesses and communities."