Huge job-creating Humber Freeport park could start this year, developers say
'We are excited by the potential of the park to bring new investment and jobs to the region'
Coreena Ford 10:22, 18 Jan 2026
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Work on Freeport 36 could start this year(Image: Henry Boot)
Work could start this year on a major job-creating industrial park at Humber Freeport, developers have announced. Henry Boot's property investment and development arm HBD sealed support from planners at East Riding of Yorkshire Council[1] for its plans towards the end of last year.
We previously reported how HBD joined forces with landowner St Johns College Cambridge to set the wheels in motion for the massive 5.5 million sq ft industrial and logistics park close to Goole[2] Docks.
At the time, its proposals were subject to a long list of conditions and legal agreements being completed.
Now, the company said it has moving ahead with its plans after officially getting planning permission for the site - now called Freeport 36 - which it said will be a nationally significant industrial and logistics scheme. It said it anticipates the first phase will deliver around ?130m gross development value.
The consent allows for the creation of a "high quality, sustainable industrial and manufacturing park", with buildings ranging from 40,000sq ft to over 1,000,000sq ft. It is expected to create around 3,000 jobs in the local area, and 5,500 in the wider Yorkshire and Humber region.
The 300-acre site is based adjacent to Junction 36 of the M62[3] with convenient access to Goole[4] Docks and the M18.
The Humber Ports complex, which includes the four major ports of Hull, Goole, Immingham and Grimsby, is the busiest port complex in the UK, handling around 17% of the nation's trade.
Freeport 36 sits within the Humber Freeport Goole tax site, which has already been officially designated following review and approval by the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs. Once operational, occupiers situated within the tax site can benefit from a range of financial incentives including business rates relief, enhanced capital allowances for investment in new plant and machinery assets, and stamp duty land tax relief on land purchases for qualifying commercial activity.
Employers operating within a Freeport also pay 0% National Insurance Contributions on the salaries of eligible new employees at the site.
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Plans for a huge job-creating employment park at Goole have been given the go-ahead.(Image: )
HBD, which became involved in the project in 2023 before submitting its outline planning application, said the next step will be to draw up detailed development plans, with the potential to start on site before the end of the year.
Article continues belowTim Roberts, CEO at Henry Boot, said: "Manufacturing and logistics hubs are a critical part of enabling business and economic growth across the country and HBD is bringing forward another large-scale project to support commerce in the Yorkshire region. The location and sustainability credentials of the development will attract high-quality, long-term occupiers in their own right, while advantages of the scheme's strategic positioning within a freeport tax site will act as a further draw."
Suzie Wood, head of investment property at St John's College, Cambridge, added: "The approval of the planning application is an exciting step forward to delivering a state of the art industrial and manufacturing park within the freeport tax zone.
We are excited by the potential of the park to bring new investment and jobs to the region."
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