Skip to main content

PLYMOUTH FREE ZONE

THE NEW SOUTH WEST FREEPORT IN PLYMOUTH IS A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR LOCAL BUSINESS. LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE IN OUR CITY AND AROUND.

Our aim here at "Plym Freeport" is to keep you up-to-date with events as they unfold, and share the most important information as we find it.

Learn more

WHAT IS A FREEPORT?

From the UK Government’s Freeport Consultation, February 2020 "Freeports are secure customs zones located at ports where business can be carried out inside a country’s land border, but where different customs rules apply. "They can reduce administrative burdens and tariffs controls, provide relief from duties and import taxes, and ease tax and planning regulations. "Typically, goods brought into a Freeport do not attract a requirement to pay duties until they leave the Freeport and enter the domestic market – and no duty at all is payable if they are re-exported. "If raw materials are brought into a Freeport from overseas and processed into a final good before entering the domestic market, then duties will be paid on the final good. "Freeports may also offer simplifications to the normal customs administrative processes on imported goods."

A freeport in Plymouth will make it easi...

Friday 17 November saw the West Country Voices live debate on Plymouth & South Devon Freeport. Held within the spectacular St Mary’s Church in Totnes, the event was attended by around 80 people in person and an even larger number online. The livestream was not without some problems, but it was an ambitious project, blending remote contributions […]

Freeport will help small businesses, MPs...

A freeport in Plymouth will make it easier for small businesses to secure finance opportunities and scale up, MPs have been told. The Commons Business and Trade Committee’s inquiry into freeports and investment zones, external has been told that questions remained over claims that they increased productivity and improved growth. But Jan Ward, chair of […]

Plymouth to get almost £20 million for w

Plymouth’s waterfront and port look set to benefit from almost £20 million as part of the Government’s Levelling Up fund. The Council has today learnt that its ambition to regenerate the city by accelerating the Freeport, National Marine Park and Net Zero vision have all moved a step further forward through this award of funding […]

Top business leader says Plymouth’s devo

‘Not in county’s best interests’ says chamber chief Plymouth’s decision to pull out of a devolution deal for Devon has been described as “profoundly disappointing” by one of the county’s leading business figures. Stuart Elford, CEO of the Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, said it was not in the best interest of the county […]

Freeport will be a huge jobs boost for P...

Last December, Plymouth’s freeport – along with Solent and Teesside’s – were the first of eight to be granted approval by the Government, MP Johnny Mercer writes. The Government have committed £25m and a further £29m has been secured from local authority sources. This is a strong endorsement of our dockyard which I have persistently […]

Customs provide crucial scrutiny of good...

A significant element of the UK government’s levelling up plan to create thousands of jobs, regenerate more deprived areas and attract overseas investors is the introduction of freeports. These special low-tax trading zones allow all kinds of businesses to trade. Under the UK model, freeports can encompass two different kinds of sites. On customs sites, authorised businesses will be […]

Business units at Freeport’s largest tax

Around 140 high quality jobs in marine, defence and space sector are on the cards at the largest tax site in Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, thanks to a business case which has just been signed off. Work on a series of industrial units is set to get underway early next year at Beaumont Way […]

Huge Plymouth jobs boost with massive ne...

Around 140 high quality jobs are to be created as part of a massive new business park which is set to be constructed next year. The jobs in the marine, defence and space sector are on the cards at the largest tax site in Plymouth and South Devon Freeport. Work on a series of industrial […]

Plymouth’s Freeport already ‘turbo charg

Plymouth’s Freeport has been the stimulus for the creation of 100 carpentry jobs in the city’s shipbuilding industry and is set to open up many more job opportunities and raise wages in what is claimed to be one of the most disadvantaged areas of the country. Described this week as a ‘great collaboration’ between City […]

First Freeport tenant lands multi-millio...

Just two months after being given the green light by government, the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport is celebrating its first private sector investment announcement as Devonport-based Babcock secures a multi-million pound contract in partnership with Devon defence vehicle designer and manufacturer Supacat. This contract will deliver 90 new jobs and enables Babcock to expand […]