A cross-party group of MPs from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland have united behind local government and businesses to call for the creation of a Freeport in the East Midlands.
Our group have been working alongside the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership to develop and promote the bid, which has the potential to generate 60,000 new skilled jobs for the region and become the beating heart of the UK’s clean growth ambition.
The bid centres on three main sites:
- The East Midlands Airport Gateway and Industrial Cluster (EMAGIC), located around the UK’s largest freight airport at East Midlands Airport.
- Uniper’s site at Ratcliffe on Soar, where the existing coal-fired power station will be decommissioned and replaced with a zero-carbon technology and energy hub.
- The East Midlands Intermodal Park (EMIP), which will become a next-generation, rail-connected business park with links to the rest of the country and beyond.
An East Midlands Freeport would enjoy the unique intersection of air, rail and road connectivity, with excellent links to major deep-sea ports elsewhere in the country. If successful, the bid will play a key role in the levelling-up of the region, with the economic, environmental and employment benefits shared far beyond the freeport site.
With the future ambition of the Development Corporation to lead growth and regeneration in the region, ‘Made in the East Midlands’ can become the hallmark of advanced manufacturing and green technology for decades to come.
Alicia Kearns, MP for Rutland and Melton said:
“An East Midlands Freeport will allow us to embrace the opportunities of Global Britain whilst turbo-charging our recovery from the pandemic in Leicestershire and Rutland. It will support our region by creating over 60,000 jobs and bolster our businesses by improving their export opportunities. This bid is a vote of confidence in our communities, and if successful, will help level-up the heart of our country and ensure the East Midlands leads the way in a global, and greener, Britain.”
Mark Fletcher, MP for Bolsover said:
“The East Midlands Freeport bid is a superb collaboration, bringing together local economic and Parliamentary stakeholders to champion a better economic future for our region. I have been campaigning for more skilled jobs in Bolsover and our region, and our Freeport bid is a huge step in the right direction.”
Ruth Edwards, MP for Rushcliffe said:
“This bid would deliver the UK’s best connected and green freeport here in the heart of the East Midlands. It is backed by businesses and our six leading universities. It would bring investment and jobs to people in Nottinghamshire and across the region. I am delighted to have worked with so many of my colleagues to back this bid and I hope the strength of local support is clear.”
The first Freeports are expected in 2021, with at least 10 to be built across the whole of the UK, seven of which will be in England.
The East Midlands Freeport bid has been submitted by a consortium including private sector businesses and local authorities, with support from universities, business groups, local MPs and the proposed Midlands Engine Development Corporation
For full details of the vision for the East Midlands, please visit https://d2n2lep.org/235m-vision-for-future-of-east-midlands-economy-unveiled/
