Plymouth & South Devon Freeport – Growing Pains
Almost exactly a year ago South Hams councillors discussed what they believed was a complete and thorough risk audit of involvement with Plymouth and South Devon Freeport (the controversial infrastructure project forced through council and approved with no public consultation).
It’s one year later and time to look closely at what’s happened with the assurances of freeport growth and reduced risk. Let’s look first at the byword of our times – ‘growth’.
Proof of ‘growth’ is hard to pin down with freeports, not least when the numbers keep shrinking. Plymouth Freeport pitched a 60% growth in freight through the port in its application to government and to councils in 2021/22. It’s a figure that has vanished from its subsequent business case in a pattern of diminishing expectations.
Councils are banking on tenants to set up within freeport sites: an influx of tenants means much-needed return on public investment running into many millions.
As of October 15th 2024 Plymouth Freeport listed just 3 tenants, and only one of these wasn’t there before the Freeport was set up around them – M Subs.
It’s poor growth by any metric.
The language around prospective tenants has morphed to reflect lowering of expectations: South Hams now celebrate ‘enquiries’ and ‘pipelines of interest’ as evidence of growth. And meanwhile the Freeport has been forced to ‘broaden’ its gateway policy to attract other sectors (translation: they’re getting desperate as the original core sectors clearly aren’t that interested).
Growth through Plymouth Freeport’s ‘hydrogen centrepiece’ at Langage is also looking rocky. The site will create hydrogen (H2) – which has a currently very limited market. The 2021/22 claims that its H2 would power shipping are currently little more than fanciful. Ammonia is the real shipping favourite – and that fact would have been clear 3 years ago if anyone had really done their research before committing millions in public funds to the freeport project.
Back when freeport braggadocio was unencumbered by having to be seen to deliver, Langage Energy Park Ltd was hailed in council as “one of a handful of companies nationally able to deliver this type of plant, which mirrors a sister project in Manchester which is due to go live in 2023.”
The ‘sister project’ referenced looks to be Trafford Green Hydrogen in Manchester. We’re now at the very end of 2024, and it’s still not ‘live’.
Neither is Langage – which is in fact experiencing unclarified delay due to ‘contractual negotiations’ with DESNZ (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero).
Both projects have benefitted from a share of £2 billion from public funds.
Plymouth & South Devon Freeport informs me that:
“Generally speaking, it is not uncommon for there to be protracted contract negotiations relating to complex matters, so it is unsurprising that a delay has occurred.”
UK freeports have already had to beg UK Government to extend their unique freeport tax reliefs by five years to 2031 due to delays. As the years roll swiftly by for this 25 year, highly complex freeport project, I wonder what other protracted delays we should expect, and whether they should really – where freeports are concerned – be all that surprising.