£1.5m funding for Freeport skills and innovation – Liverpool Business News

Businesses and training providers get access to ?1.5m that is being used to back innovation and skills projects centred around the Liverpool City Region Freeport. Tony McDonough reports

Port of Liverpool is central to the LCR Freeport project

A new ?1.5m funding pot has been set up to support skills and innovation within the Liverpool City Region Freeport. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has launched two new ?750,000 funds - the LCR Freeport Innovation Challenge Fund and the LCR Freeport Skills Infrastructure Grant. He says he wants the Freeport to provide "real opportunities for local people".

LCR Freeport is one of eight freeports in England in an initiative originally announced by former Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Liverpool city region's freeport went live in early 2023 with ?25m of initial funding from the Government. Freeports are designated zones where normal tax and customs rules do not apply.

These can be airports or other hubs as well as maritime ports. At a Freeport, imports can enter with simplified customs documentation and without paying tariffs. LCR Freeport[1] is a designated area covering 45km, where a range of economic incentives are available, covering customs, business rates, planning, regeneration, innovation, trade and investment support.

Local councils are able to retain 100% of business rates growth generated by the freeport tax sites - located in Birkenhead, St Helens and Widnes. In total, ?194m has been committed to investments within the Freeport since it launched. In September 2024, LBN reported that more than 3m sq ft of logistics / industrial space is under construction or in the pipeline. ?67.8m of private sector funding has been invested in the xDock 549 site within the 3MG tax site in Halton. [2]

The ?25m, 220,000 sq ft.Viking Park was also completed at the 3MG site during the last year. In St Helens, planning approval was granted for phase one of Parkside, the largest of the tax sites, securing ?80m of investment to create 800,000 sq ft of logistics space. A new Parkside link road has just been completed[3]. The LCR Freeport Innovation Challenge Fund is a ?750,000 capital grant programme to support projects addressing the Freeport's two key innovation challenges - freight and maritime decarbonisation and digitalisation of trade and logistics.

It aims to accelerate the development and deployment of transformative technologies that will enhance the Freeport's economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability. The LCR Freeport Skills Infrastructure Grant is a ?750,000 capital grant programme designed to support skills equipment and infrastructure projects for providers of education and training. Target sectors for these grants are logistics, maritime, advanced manufacturing and Green Energy.

Official opening of Parkside Link Road in Newton-le-Willows

Mr Rotheram said: Our Freeport isn't just about lines on a map - it's about creating real opportunities for local people, attracting investment, and driving innovation in the sectors where we're already leading the way.

"We've got the potential to be the UK's gateway to global markets - but to make that happen, we need to back our businesses and our workforce with the right tools and support.

"These funds will help us do exactly that - by giving local innovators the chance to scale up new ideas, and making sure our residents have the skills they need to take advantage of the high-quality jobs we're bringing to our area."

References

1. ^ LCR Freeport (www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk)
2. ^ LBN reported that more than 3m sq ft of logistics / industrial space (lbndaily.co.uk)
3. ^ A new Parkside link road has just been completed (lbndaily.co.uk)