A personal view by Solent Freeport Chair Brian Johnson.

When the Government’s ‘Modern Industrial Strategy’ was published last month, I was probably one of the few people in our region that read the whole thing. It’s important for our region as we have a Freeport,  and next year will have a new Mayoral Strategic Authority. This document backs and supports all the effort our partners across the south have done in the last decade to generate growth, good jobs for local people and sustainable communities.

The Freeports Programme, alongside the UK’s Investment Zones, and the existing Enterprise zones will be managed under the new joint banner of Industrial Strategy Zones, reflecting the pivotal role they will play in driving investment in high-growth sectors and the bolstered support they will receive to do so.

The 22 Industrial Strategy Zones – encompassing Freeports and Investment Zones across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are expected to generate more than £50 billion of private investment, ensuring the UK is growing the industries of the future and generating well-paid jobs for communities across the UK.

In the Solent we created a partnership across our region to make sure we were part of the Freeport programme with a team coordinated by the Local Enterprise Partnership and all the local authorities across the Central South.

This team works tirelessly to progress our stated mission of sustainable progress within Solent Freeport and the region as a whole and we look forward to continuing this under the new Government structure.

How freeports are growing

The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy was published alongside the Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan, which sets out future policy for freeports, and the June 2025 UK Freeports Programme Report, which looks back at how freeports have evolved. The latter offers a very comprehensive overview of freeports.

These numbers are astounding. The 12 freeports across the UK have attracted £6.4 billion of investment to date, of which 89% is foreign direct investment. Regarding site delivery progress, £157.93 million has been disbursed on 39 seed capital projects.

Solent Freeport’s latest investment from the seed capital funding is £4.8m to Portico Shipping, the Portsmouth based international cargo operator, to grow operations, provide environmental improvements and create job opportunities – and there are two other investments in the pipeline.

In the UK £1 billion has been unlocked in private investment for site preparation, 2,671 hectares of land have been rehabilitated and more than £880 million is expected to be generated in retained rates over 25 years – a figure that will rise as more investments are confirmed.

Solent Freeport’s top sectors

The top three sectors for freeports investment are clean energy (£2.6 billion), ports and maritime (£1.56 billion) and advanced manufacturing, engineering and construction (£839 million). I am pleased to say that all these sectors feature heavily in Solent Freeport.

Solent Freeport seeks to harness the Solent’s unrivalled natural capital to pioneer clean growth technology and adaptation to drive productivity within the freeport and across the wider region’s business and employment base, and at the same time enhance the quality of local environmental assets for the benefit of our communities.

The region has significant decarbonisation ambitions: the Solent 10 Point Plan for Building Back Greener; the Solent Cluster Project which aims to capture 10 million tonnes of CO2 a year; Portsmouth International Port which aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 and Low Carbon Solent which supports decarbonisation ambitions.

The Solent region has three major ports and is a hub for marine manufacturing, with a number of companies involved in the design and production of marine vessels, equipment, and components. The region’s proximity to the sea and strong maritime heritage make it an ideal location for inward investment from companies involved in marine manufacturing, with access to skilled workforce, research and development capabilities, and a strong supply chain.

The Solent region is also home to a diverse range of companies involved in advanced manufacturing, including aerospace, marine, automotive, and electronics. The region’s focus on collaboration, innovation and skills development ensures that it remains at the forefront of advanced manufacturing in the UK and globally.

Advanced manufacturing is a key driver of economic growth and innovation in the Solent region, with a strong cluster of companies, research organisations, and support networks working together to drive forward technological advancements and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.

I have been Chair of the Solent Freeport since its inception five years ago and have been proud to play a part in driving growth in our region. We have over 400 hectares of land that benefit from a reduced tax regime, mainly around Southampton Water, which will create wealth and jobs in our towns and cities. The Industrial Strategy has now confirmed our path for the next decades as we work with our existing partners and our new Mayor to take the region forward.

An edited version of this column was published by the Southern Daily Echo on Thursday 3 July.