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Enterprise Park joins Freeport-on-Thames bidders

[ January 25, 2021   //   ]

The Thames Enterprise Park at Tilbury – a 669-acre former oil refinery development site shortly to become a manufacturing, logistics and clean energy hub – is joining the joint London Gateway, Port of Tilbury and Ford bid to set up a freeport to the east of London.

Located directly next to DP World London Gateway, Thames Enterprise Park will bring additional development and expansion land to the bid, as well as add its vision for a clean fuel hydrogen network that aligns closely with the UK’s net zero carbon agenda.

Tilbury owner Forth Ports says that Thames Enterprise Park is one of the largest regeneration projects in the UK and bringing it into the bid as a customs sub-zone means that the transformative impact of freeport status will be even greater – a key objective of the Government’s freeport policy.

The Thames Freeport bid now includes two port operations at London Gateway and Tilbury, plus Ford Dagenham and a major regeneration site at Thames Enterprise Park, totalling over 1,600 acres. 

Stuart Wallace from the Thames Freeport bid consortium, said: “Size matters more than ever for UK plc.  A Thames Freeport ability to deliver transformational gains across trade, investment, jobs, levelling up and regeneration is substantial and just got even bigger.  By boosting the bid with Thames Enterprise Park, we are taking the potential impact of our bid up a gear, which is great news for everyone who wants to see the region succeed and thrive.”

Director of Thames Enterprise Park, Jonathan Whittingham, added: “By bringing Thames Enterprise Park into the bid, we can unlock many more benefits than might otherwise have been possible.  It means that the bid can go further in stimulating the economic, social and environmental benefits not only for Thurrock and for the estuary region, but also for the UK.”

Following recent formal backing from Thurrock Borough Council and the Barking and Dagenham Council, the team is fine tuning the freeport bid ahead of submission to the Government by 5 February.

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