Simon Bird is Director Humber at Associated British Ports, and a Greater Lincolnshire LEP Board Director. Simon headed up the successful Humber Freeport bid last year and is now moving the project into the challenging delivery phase.

Simon has run Britain’s largest port network for more than seven years and worked in the port sector for over two decades.  We talked to him here about progress and the significant role of the Humber Freeport:

A staggering 95% of the nation’s trade enters or leaves the UK via the sea. Considering that almost a quarter of Britain’s maritime trade moves through the four ports on the Humber, it is easy to see the pivotal role the Humber plays in keeping Britain moving and trading. Increasingly though, the ports are now being seen not just as part of trade routes, but as enablers of growth. Port operators represent some of the biggest investors in UK infrastructure in recent years, constantly increasing and upgrading to allow for growth and changes in trading trends. Added to that, many ports, especially on the Humber, have available land space to accommodate new manufacturers, distributors and research and development centres which can all benefit from the close access to international supplies and markets those ports can provide. 

For this reason, the freeport policy has become enormously important to the government. Creating tax incentives for would-be investors in future industries to locate on vacant land inside a Freeport area could create exactly the business-friendly environment that will make the UK competitive on the world stage. It is also no coincidence, that most of the freeport areas that have been allocated, are in the places the government is keen to see at the heart of their levelling up project. 

The Humber Freeport is perhaps the best example of this and is leading the way in the race to a flagship for future investment. 

The Humber is the largest carbon polluting region in the country. It therefore has a unique opportunity to blaze a trail for de-carbonising our economy as well as build on the area’s status as the most exciting place for growth in green energy. In addition to hosting the largest hub for the operations and maintenance of offshore wind in the World in the Port of Grimsby and the blossoming manufacture of offshore wind blades in the Siemens Gamesa plant in Green Port Hull, right across the Humber there are projects for boosting green energy and decarbonisation. 

“Freeport status for the Humber will act as a catalyst to accelerate growth in all these endeavours,” Simon stated. 

In Goole, Immingham, Hull, Scunthorpe and Grimsby there are communities with high levels of deprivation and a large potential workforce who with the right skills, investment and opportunities can help to transform the economy of the area. 

The new Humber Freeport has a bold ambition. Where in some parts of the UK, freeport plans have been confined to small areas and limited scope, the Humber has decided to embrace a plan that takes in the whole Humber area and will seek to boost jobs in multiple sectors. “What is especially pleasing is the strength of the coalition that has been created to make the case,” said Simon. “For a part of the world with a troubled history of cross-area collaboration, the sense of unity behind this proposal is both satisfying and hugely compelling.” 

A new Freeport Company Limited by Guarantee is being created to run the Freeport, with membership on the board drawn from local authorities, both LEPs, and local business. It has established three new tax sites on both banks of the Humber that will incentivise growth in new manufacturing, research and development and green energy jobs.  

One site is located to the East of the Port of Hull, another is located on development land in Goole.  

The third tax site is located on the Able Marine Development Park in Killingholme in North Lincolshire. At this site there will be a big focus on green energy jobs, especially in the offshore wind sector. 

“The hope is that we will secure significant inward investment from blue-chip multinationals with the potential to attract and drive both supply chain and innovation ecostructures,” Simon explained. There is also a strong commitment to utilise local labour to help tackle the issues of deprivation not just in the Humber but beyond into surrounding areas in Doncaster, Wakefield and Leeds. “We already know that thousands of jobs in parts of the UK well beyond the Humber are directly reliant on the Humber Ports. The Humber Freeport will have a significantly beneficial impact in many areas around the UK.” 

“No other part of the UK can boast the unique combination of an existing pivotal role in UK trade and energy supply with the potential to level-up, tackle deprivation and decarbonise our economy through the growth of green jobs, which is why there is such a buzz in the Humber about what the future will bring.” 

Simon Bird 

Director Humber, Associated British Ports