Freeports

What are Freeports?  

Freeports (known as Green Freeports in Scotland) are special areas that have been created by government to boost investment into parts of the country that have historically missed out. They benefit from a generous package of incentives, as well as excellent port infrastructure (sea and air), and build on the proud industrial heritages of their regions.  

All of this enables Freeports to create an attractive business environment with the aim of rebalancing local economies by building new clusters in sectors of the future, spearheading our journey to Net Zero, and creating thousands of long-term, high-quality jobs for local people.  

Two key documents relating to Freeports were published in June 2025, in conjunction with the Industrial Strategy announcement: The Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan and the Freeports Programme Report.

Find out more about Freeports and where they are located on the UK Freeports website.  

How are Freeports being delivered? 

Freeport delivery is led by a local partnership of councils, businesses, and other key stakeholders, which together form a ‘Freeport governing body’. Freeport governing bodies take a range of forms, but all are required to adhere to high standards of transparency and their local authority members ensure the appropriate management of public money and democratic accountability. 

Local delivery is supported by departments from across government, reflecting the wide-ranging and cross-cutting nature of the policy, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) acts as the lead department. You can find more information on the progress of the programme, including monitoring and evaluation, in the UK Freeports Annual Report. 

What do Freeports mean for my area? 

Freeports create high-quality, long-term jobs in areas that have historically missed out and empower councils to invest in things like local infrastructure and skills programmes.  

Each Freeport has up to 3 ‘tax sites’, carefully selected by local councils, on which they aim to encourage investment and appropriate development. These sites are the economic engine of the Freeport and sit within a wider ‘outer boundary’ which shows the (much larger) area that is expected to benefit most from the Freeport. For example, jobs created on the Freeport sites may be taken by  people living within the ‘outer boundary’.  

Freeports aim to encourage investment specifically on those chosen sites (rather than across the entire ‘outer boundary’) and do not impact protections relating to the environment, protected landscapes like National Parks, or workers’ rights. Any location in a UK Freeport is subject to the same rules and regulations as the rest of the country. 

In this way, Freeports will deliver new opportunities for local communities, while protecting their most valuable assets. Discover more about Living and Working in a Freeport area and view maps of the Freeport sites and outer boundaries.

Useful resources  

Guidance on tax and customs sites in Freeports:  

• HMRC Freeports induction pack (PDF, 338 KB, 29 pages): guidance providing information on the tax and customs measures for businesses interested in operating within a Freeport. 
• HMRC Freeports business examples (PDF, 1000 KB, 32 pages): a selection of business user journeys, operating within different sectors and operating models, covering both customs and tax site benefits within a Freeport.  
• Watch a recorded webinar about UK Freeports and the possible benefits of locating in a Freeport customs site. This provides an overview of UK Freeports, and the possible tax and customs benefits for 2 different businesses. 
• Sector specific additional guidance for businesses involved in importing steel into a Freeport customs site (PDF, 740 KB, 7 pages), or  returning offshore wind turbines to a Freeport customs site (PDF, 200 KB, 4 pages) to be decommissioned, disassembled or scrapped at the end of their economic life.

Operating a Freeport customs site: 

• Operating a Freeport customs site: find out what the responsibilities of a Freeport customs site operator are, including the security you’ll be responsible for and the records you’ll need to keep. 

• Apply to be a Freeport customs site operator: find out who can be a Freeport customs site operator and what you’ll need to apply and get authorised.  

Moving goods into or out of a Freeport customs site: 

• Apply to use the Freeport customs special procedure: find out who should apply to use the Freeport customs special procedure, and how they can submit their application. 

• Get your business ready to use a Freeport customs site: find out what a business who wants to move goods into or out of a customs site will need to do. 

• Declaring goods and paying tax when using a Freeport customs site: find out how to declare goods and pay any tax due on goods moved into or out of a customs site. 

• Check if your goods can be moved into a Freeport customs site: find out about controlled and excluded goods which can or cannot be brought in and out of a Freeport customs site.  

Claiming tax reliefs in a Freeport special tax site: 

• Check if you can claim relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax in Freeport tax sites in England: find out if you can claim relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax when buying land or buildings in a Freeport tax site in England. 

• Check if you can claim the enhanced capital allowance relief in Freeport tax sites: find out how to claim enhanced capital allowance relief.  

• Check if you can claim enhanced structures and buildings allowance relief in Freeport tax sites: find out how to claim enhanced structures and buildings allowance relief.  

• Check if you can claim National Insurance relief in Freeport tax sites: find out if you can claim relief from employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions when you employ someone in a Freeport tax site. 

• LBTT3049 - Green Freeports: find out about Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Green Freeport tax sites in Scotland 

• Guidance for local authorities on Freeports Business Rates Relief. 

• ​English Freeports Subsidy Scheme

Freeport security

Freeport areas are subject to the exact same laws and regulations regarding security as the rest of the UK and it remains the responsibility of businesses and individuals to comply with the law when within a Freeport. Freeport status has no impact on this.

Some specific, secure sites within that wider Freeport area have different customs rules designed to support businesses to trade internationally. These are called ‘customs sites’. Each customs site has a named operator who is responsible for security on the site. All customs sites are assessed for security by HMRC prior to their designation and all customs site operators are required to obtain Authorised Economic Operator status or equivalent authorisation from HMRC, an international gold standard for safety and security. Customs sites and their operators are the subject to ongoing monitoring and compliance activities undertaken by HMRC.

To make sure that Freeports are not only upholding the same high standards on security as the rest of the country but are also examples of best practice, the government also requires Freeport governing bodies (a partnership of local government and key private and other stakeholders, including ports) to play a proactive role in managing security risks across their geographies. This includes a requirement to maintain a current and accurate risk register and regularly convene the relevant stakeholders (namely, those organisations with statutory responsibility for the security of Freeport sites) to ensure effective coordination.

A range of tools and guidance to assist the Freeports in managing potential security risks of businesses located within and around their sites.

Freeportssites securitycan guidance (PDF,be 130found KB,at 5Freeports pages)security guidance.

Publications: 

• Bidding prospectus: Freeports in England 
• English Freeports decision making note  
• Bidding prospectus: Green Freeports in Scotland 
• Scottish Green Freeports decision making note 
• Bidding prospectus: Freeports in Wales 
• Welsh Freeports decision making note 
• Maps of Freeports, Freeport customs sites and Freeport tax sites  
• Freeports monitoring and evaluation strategy  

Contact us  

More information on current news and opportunities in Freeports and how to contact them can be found on the UK Freeports campaign website. 

For any other general queries, email UKFreeports@communities.gov.uk.