FREEPORT FOR FELIXSTOWE
The Chancellor announced in his Budget today that our bid for the Port of Felixstowe to be granted Freeport status was successful. This is hugely welcome as something which will boost our local economy and provide further jobs for my constituents.
I have been supporting the Port of Felixstowe in their bid over many months and wrote to the Chancellor in November expressing my support for a Freeport in Suffolk and laying out our case for being included in the scheme.
The Government’s Freeport initiative will play a crucial role in our post-Covid economic recovery by bringing new opportunities for inward investment, economic growth and regeneration. There are areas of deprivation in Ipswich which will benefit hugely by the introduction of the Freeport and this will help us deliver on the levelling up agenda for Ipswich.
I spoke in the House about how the Government’s levelling up agenda should apply to all areas of the country and about the positive impact a Freeport would have for my constituents in Ipswich.
But the new Freeport of Felixstowe will benefit the UK as a whole. Felixstowe is a global port and Britain’s biggest and busiest container port. It has strong global links and strong transport links to the Midlands and the North meaning that this initiative will bring significant economic benefits not just to East Anglia but also to the rest of the country.
I plan over the coming months to explain further the tangible benefits that this new Freeport in Felixstowe will have for our town.