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Following the Chancellor’s budget announcement yesterday (3rd March), Teesside will soon become home to the UK's largest Freeport zone. And Wilton International's 'plug and play' site offer will be key to the fast delivery of large-scale industrial inward investment projects.
Teesside’s Winning Freeport Bid
Covering more than 4,500 acres of land, the equivalent of 2,250 football pitches, Teesside’s will be the largest of the UK’s 8 new Freeport zones. And the successful bid provides an excellent example of what can be achieved when Teesside’s industrial cluster, with public and private sector partners including local authorities and ports, work together. The Freeport zone includes ten distinct areas on or close to the River Tees, with forecasts estimating the attraction of more than 18,000 jobs to the area over five years, and a £3.2 billion boost to the local economy.
Freeport Benefits for Businesses
Freeport status will provide a range of benefits for investing businesses, placing the Teesside zone in pole position for the attraction of high-value industrial projects. Advantages will include tax relief, simplified customs arrangements, a streamlined planning process, and government support for regeneration and innovation. Freeport status will not impact on workers’ rights or environmental protections.
Wilton International’s Vital Contribution
Wilton International is one of the UK’s most important manufacturing locations for chemicals, other process industries and high-growth sectors including the circular economy, advanced biotech and pharma, and the Net Zero supply chain. 200 hectares of development land on the port-adjacent site will be within the Freeport tax zone, providing a range of tax incentives for investing businesses, including Enhanced Capital Allowances.
Wilton International offers available development land that’s pre-consented for large-scale industrial projects, as well as ‘plug and play’ energy, utilities and infrastructure including pipeline corridors and industrial gas supplies. The site’s ‘ready to go’ package will enable industrial businesses to deliver projects, and realise the benefits of their Freeport location, quickly and efficiently.
According to Andy Koss, CEO at Sembcorp Energy UK, Freeport status will also facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy: “Teesside is well placed to deliver on the Government’s Net Zero targets. We believe that Freeport status will support our plans, and those of our existing customers, to decarbonise our Teesside operations”.
Find out more about Wilton International’s ready-to-go site offer: download our site Data Packs
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