78 | Tees Business
By Michael McGeary
Free Ports:
A generational
opportunity for
Teesside
O
pening up a Free Port is a unique
opportunity that would benefit
not only the current Teesside
workforce but their children and
grandchildren as well.
That’s the view of Jerry Hopkinson, chief
operating officer and vice chairman of PD
Ports, the statutory harbour authority for
the River Tees, which is getting behind a
campaign that’s gathering momentum as
the UK prepares to leave the European
Union on October 31.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a firm
supporter of the idea, saying the low-tax,
deregulated zones are “an excellent way to
boost business and trade”.
And Jerry, who has spent his working
life with PD Ports, which employs some
1,250, says no other UK location has more
potential to benefit from Free Port status
than Teesport.
PD Ports operates a warehouse business
in the ports of Immingham and Felixstowe
as well as a series of short seaports on the
Humber, the Trent, the Ouse and the Isle of
Wight. Its headquarters are located in grand
offices in Queen’s Square, Middlesbrough,
which have been the home of the statutory
harbour authority since the turn of the 20th
century.
PD Ports COO speaks out
on “profound case”
“I can’t think of a better case for the
granting of Free Port status than here on
Teesside,” says Jerry.
“We have one of the deepest rivers in
the UK and can take some of the world’s
biggest ships. We currently handle more
than 30m tonnes of cargo. When North Sea
oil was flowing through the ConocoPhillips
refinery at its peak and steel was
manufactured here, our biggest year was
about 55m tonnes. Even then, we could
see there was substantial additional latent
capacity.
“Depending on the cargo, we think this
river has a capacity of more than 80m
tonnes – which is very substantial indeed.”
But that’s not all. Teesside’s industrial
heritage includes a vast expanse of
brownfield land that could service the
manufacturing opportunities Free Port
status could bring.
“On the south bank alone there’s around
4,800 acres of land, principally the site of
the former steelworks,” says Jerry.
“The gateway into that is Teesport, a
large, modern port that has attracted over
£1bn of new investment to the Tees Valley
in recent years. The creation of a Free Port
isn’t simply about Teesport; it is more about
what it will bring to the wider region.
“We also have a skilled workforce and
there is an appetite across the region
to invigorate industry and see greater
investment and development. All those
elements combine to make a profound
case.”
Free Ports are possible within the EU
but are subject to legislation governing
competitive practices between member
states. If the UK leaves the EU without a
deal it would allow the most developed Free
Port model to be introduced.
“Irrespective of your view, it’s a fact
that if we leave without a deal, the Free
Port opportunity becomes eminently
deliverable,” he says. “However we can
deliver industrial infrastructure on Teesside
without having a Free Port because we still