Humber Freeport
Humber Freeport builds on the region's existing strengths in renewable energy, clean growth, and advanced manufacturing, offering excellent connectivity to the UK's manufacturing supply chain.
Home to the UK’s busiest port complex, the Humber Ports play a vital strategic role for the UK as a global trade gateway. The Freeport area expands across both banks of the Humber, including the 4 major ports of Hull, Goole, Immingham and Grimsby, which combined, handle around 17% of the nation’s trade.
Humber Freeport offers a range of incentives relating to customs, tax, planning, infrastructure, and innovation. See further details on the benefits of Freeports.
Tax benefits are available at the Freeport’s 3 tax sites, located at:
- Able Marine Energy Park and Immingham, providing a multi-user facility for next-generation offshore wind turbines and their associated supply chains
- Hull East centred on the Saltend Chemical Park, with large areas of development land across a wide range of strategic port locations
- Goole, adjacent to the Siemens Mobility rail plant, offering an innovation hub at the centre of the rail industry supply chain
Investment type:
Freeports
Sector:
Sustainable infrastructure, Offshore wind, Chemicals, Green Shipping
Sector and market opportunity
Development of green energy and support for the offshore wind industry are the core development opportunities for the Humber. The Humber also has significant strengths, capabilities, and assets across a broad spectrum of chemicals manufacturing and processing. Opportunities are also available in the supply of decarbonisation solutions and technologies to the growing green transport sector, including of the UK rail network. The region has a strong advanced manufacturing base as well as an extensive logistics sector, providing supply chain and distribution opportunities.
Growth prospects
Offshore wind energy in the UK is poised to grow rapidly over the next 10 years, with ambitions to deploy 40 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 as part of the ‘ten-point plan’ for a green industrial revolution.
Companies can use the Humber as a springboard to exploit the global £4.3 trillion chemicals market opportunity.
Companies can also play a key role in achieving the UK’s 2050 net zero target for carbon emissions through the electrification of 13,000km of track across the UK rail network.
Location
Associated British Ports (ABP) Humber facilities provide a gateway for global trade, connecting businesses across the UK, Europe, and beyond. ABP has sites at Hull, Immingham, Grimsby, and Goole.
The Able Marine Energy Park (AMEP) is a fully consented project and a bespoke port facility for the renewable energy sector, particularly offshore wind. Able will invest circa £450 million to develop 1,340 metres of new deep-water quays, lay down lands and manufacturing facilities.
The Goole tax site represents a unique opportunity to co-locate with the new Siemens rail factory currently under construction, creating the opportunity to be part of that facility’s supply chain. The tax site is a large undeveloped site with excellent transport links, ideally situated to access Hull, Goole, Scunthorpe as well as East Yorkshire (Doncaster, Wakefield).
At the heart of the UK energy transition, Saltend is the country’s premier location for world-class industrial businesses to prosper. Owned and operated by PX Group, Saltend is strategically positioned on the banks of the Humber. The 370-acre site is home to some of the world’s leading blue-chip manufacturing, chemicals and renewable energy businesses. Adjacent to Saltend is the Yorkshire Energy Park, a next generation energy and technology business park positioning the Humber at the forefront of the global transition to net zero.
Connectivity
Fly from 3 airports with local and international connections: Manchester International Airport, Humberside Airport, and Leeds Bradford Airport.
Access 40 million people and 75% of UK manufacturing sites within a 4-hour drive. A total of 320 million customers in mainland Europe can be reached within 24 hours, through a good network of road and rail connectivity.
Access the UK’s busiest port complex with outstanding connections to mainland Europe, Northern Europe and the Baltics, as well as the whole of the British Isles.
Local talent and skills
There are more than 37,000 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students, and 11,000+ graduates in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Currently 166,000+ working in STEM roles and 247,000+ in skilled trades.
Region Spotlight
North of England
The North of England is recognised as a global centre for creativity and design and attracts thriving international investment. This heritage of expertise and manufacturing know-how is well established on the world stage, and historically gave birth to the Industrial Revolution.
National government support
As specially designed areas with beneficial economic regulations, Freeports can help you achieve sustained growth, and may be able to save you time and money through:
Tax reliefs
- Stamp Duty Land Tax relief
- enhanced Capital Allowances for investment in plant & machinery and structures & buildings
- five years of Business Rates relief
- employer National Insurance contributions relief
Customs and Planning
- simplified customs procedure
- deferrals and exemptions from duty payments
- VAT suspension within customs sites
- supportive local planning environments with constructive public-private partnerships
Innovation Offer
- extensive public investment in skills and infrastructure
- access to the Freeport Regulation Engagement Network (FREN), enabling direct and early engagement between businesses, Freeports, and regulators
- access to the Freeport Innovation Network (FIN), a collaboration vehicle for Freeports to shape and organise their innovation activity as a collective
Success stories - Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE)
In 2014, Spanish-owned SGRE announced it was opening a new 40,000 square metre, £350 million, factory in Hull (with the support of Associated British Ports). The plant was completed ahead of time and within budget in December 2016 and the first blades left the Alexandra Dock bound for Race Bank in January 2017. Since then, almost 2,000 blades have been manufactured at SGRE’s factory for projects throughout Europe.
Following this success Siemens Gamesa is expanding its successful blade factory in Hull by a further 41,600 square metres, more than doubling the size of the manufacturing facility. The expansion, representing an investment of £186 million, is scheduled for completion in 2023 and will directly employ a further 200 people.
