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Goole freeport site submitted to Government in bid to unlock investment

The 200-hectare footprint for Goole’s freeport site has been submitted to the Government in the hope it will attract investors.

As part of the Humber Freeport – which was granted Freeport Tax Site Status in 2021 – the Goole site straddles the M62 to the west of the town. It is designed to offer investors benefits such as accelerated capital allowances, stamp duty and land tax relief, business rate relief, and no employer National Insurance contributions for the first three years.

In recent years, Goole has established itself as an investment hotspot, attracting major developments by blue chip businesses such as train builder Siemens Mobility and FTSE-listed chemicals specialist Croda. It is hoped the freeport site, next to Goole 36 Enterprise Zone, can encourage more.

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Simon Bird, chair of Humber Freeport, said: “Submitting the footprint for the Goole tax site represents an exciting and significant milestone for Humber Freeport. Each of our three tax sites – in Hull, Goole and Immingham – offers something completely unique.

“The Goole tax site benefits from a strategically significant location, suitable for advanced manufacturing and other sectors, with easy access to the M62 motorway, excellent rail connections and port links to the Humber Estuary. Goole has seen major investment from global companies who have already seen the huge opportunity it presents. Freeport status further enhances that opportunity, opening up new corridors of development and economic growth.”

Humber Freeport launched officially in July and includes a total portfolio of 600 hectares of land available for investment across the three sites. The concept aims to create 7,000 new jobs, and there are already plans for freeport developments in the shape of rare earth materials company Pensana’s ambitions for a chemical engineering plant and green hydrogen specialist Meld Energy‘s proposed plant.

Coun Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “The council has been working closely with the Humber Freeport Company to support tax site development. This is a major step forward in formally establishing the site at Goole.

“Once approved, the freeport will create a natural extension to the existing Goole Enterprise Zone, providing a wealth of opportunity for new job-creating investments. Such investments will not only be good for Goole, they will also have a positive impact on the growth of the wider UK economy.”

Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber

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