STENA LINE CELEBRATES
ANGLESEY FREEPORT SUCCESS
A joint bid by Stena Line and Isle of Anglesey County Council sees a new Freeport for North Wales. UK and Welsh Governments agree that the Anglesey Freeport will bring a major economic boost to the region.
The Anglesey Freeport is a partnership between Isle of Anglesey County Council and Stena Line, supported by a number of other stakeholders. This consortium, driven by a shared goal to deliver prosperity to North Wales, submitted a bid to the UK Government in November 2022, outlining a roadmap to deliver greater trade and investment for the area and the wider UK.
Freeports are specially designated areas within the UK’s borders where different economic regulations apply. The success of the Anglesey Freeport bid means that the area will now benefit from simplified customs and trade rules, enabling it to provide greater incentives for investment and trade. In future, goods entering Anglesey Freeport will not be subject to the UK’s usual tax and customs regime.
GOOD NEWS FOR HAULIERS
The announcement of the bid’s success, which was made at the end of March 2023, signals the start of a process to regenerate the GB land bridge, which has suffered a 20% reduction in trade since Brexit. The Freeport will reduce the need for hauliers to transit goods around the southern tip of the UK, a process which is both environmentally damaging and economically inefficient.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who visited the Port of Holyhead along with First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford, described the Freeport as an opportunity to “turbo charge” economic growth in Wales.
A BOOST FOR THE REGION
Ian Hampton, Chair of the Anglesey Freeport Board, says: “This is a significant achievement for the region, and it is an excellent opportunity to drive forward sustainable economic growth, green energy, jobs, and skills. We are delighted for the people of Anglesey and North Wales, and excited about the positive commercial prospects that can be turned into a reality.”
Research suggests that the Anglesey Freeport could:
- create up to 13,000 high-skilled, high-wage jobs for local people over 15 years;
- increase UK GDP by £1 billion by 2030, stimulated by business investment in R&D, servicing the supply chain of new green technologies;
- increase manufacturing output across North Wales while working in partnership with world-class educational institutions and supporting the upskilling of communities across North Wales.
Dylan J. Williams, Chief Executive of Isle of Anglesey County Council, says: “It will stimulate significant long-term job creation for local people as well as wider socio-
economic benefits and supply chain developments. This will help keep our young people in their local communities, preserving our island’s unique character, culture and the Welsh language.”
DRIVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The Freeport will accelerate the take up of sustainable energy production by building on existing industry-leading net-zero initiatives on Anglesey’s coastline, and aims to attract £1.4 billion worth of investment in the green energy sector. It will also bolster the County Council’s existing Energy Island Programme, which aims to see the Island become a hub for low-carbon energy research and development, innovation production and servicing.
The Anglesey Freeport will extend 45km from Holyhead Port, covering the whole Isle of Anglesey, with four zones designated as tax or customs sites. The proposed sites are Holyhead Port (including the former Anglesey Aluminium site and deep-water jetty), Parc Cybi, Rhosgoch, and M-Sparc Science Parc.
THE JOURNEY AHEAD
“This announcement presents an enormous economic opportunity and we look forward to working with the Welsh and UK Governments,” says Ian Hampton. “Work now begins to ensure that we are capitalising on the unique tax and customs arrangements gained through freeport status, to transform Anglesey into a centre for global trading excellence, and realise its potential as a world-leading economic powerhouse by facilitating trade across Wales, the rest of the UK, and internationally.”
