The Plymouth and South Devon Freeport will supercharge the South West economy by building on our region’s unique national capabilities in marine, defence and space to form globally impactful clusters and a UK Innovation Superpower.
Our outstanding location means the Freeport is prime for growing marine autonomy, renewables and innovative businesses.
The Plymouth and South Devon Freeport will attract new investment and provide supply chain opportunities, embedding our commitment to tackle climate change, deliver clean growth and marine decarbonisation.
We will provide innovation, investment and infrastructure to build a more resilient, sustainable, and productive economy and upskill the local workforce for the high quality future proof jobs the Freeport will bring.
The Offer
Innovation
Property
Workforce
International Trade
Business Support
Net Zero
Our ambition
Our Freeport represents a unique opportunity to level up, address historical challenges and leverage exciting new opportunities to transform the economy of Plymouth and South Devon through:
- Physical regeneration – by delivering infrastructure to unlock key employment sites and innovation assets, supporting business clustering
and clean growth opportunities. - Economic regeneration – by delivering inward investment, supply chain opportunities and productivity gains within our identified growth sectors.
- Social regeneration – by delivering a pipeline of jobs across the spectrum of employment from entry level to higher skilled/high value with upskilling opportunities.
We will:
- Create a national hub for trade and investment – delivering an increase in trade throughput and piloting short sea shipping, reducing freight transport emissions, improving regional connectivity, increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and investment, as well as increasing the number of businesses exporting
- Promote regeneration and job creation – increasing economic specialisation, delivering an increase in employment and average earnings, tackling deprivation and enhancing skills capacity, apprenticeships and opportunities
- Create a hotbed for innovation – increasing R&D spend, boosting Gross Value Added (GVA) through increasing high value economic activity, increasing productivity, contributing to net zero research and innovation agendas and extending regional, national and international networks.
Our story so far:
- December 2020 – Team assembled to submit Freeport bid
- January 2021 – Bid submission made to Government for the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport
- March 2021 – Successful bid announced in spring budget
- July 2021 – Stakeholder event held with local MPs, businesses, organisations and agencies to discuss and shape the Outline Business Case (OBC) submission
- November 2021 – OBC submitted to Government
- December 2021 – Stakeholder event held to reflect on the OBC submission and set the agenda for the Full Business Case (FBC)
- April 2022 – FBC agreed by partners and submitted
- May 2022 – Plymouth and South Devon Freeport Company established and Interim Chair and directors appointed
- August 2022 – Interim CEO appointed to mobilise the Freeport
- October 2022 – All three Freeport tax sites designated by statutory instrument
- December 2022 – Government announce Full Business Case approval
In 2023 we will continue to build on the extensive partnership work initiated during the last two years and support interested businesses with contracting, designing and planning their place within the Freeport.
If you would like to find out more about the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport and how your business may benefit from being involved please contact the team directly via email.