Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says freeport is as much about 'opportunity' and 'pride' as jobs and the economy
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak travelled to the Highlands to confirm the announcement that Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF) has been awarded Green Freeport status in what he said would deliver “practical and tangible” benefits for the Highlands.
The PM underlined that the green freeport was about more than jobs, economic output and opportunities, central though that is to the levelling-up agenda, but also “is in large part about opportunity and it's about pride.”
Mr Sunak said it was “inspiring” to see how people in the Highland had responded to the news, saying: “They're all so pumped up because of what it's going to mean for them and you know their colleagues and their friends and their neighbours.”
He said: “Levelling up to me and I think to Alistair [Jack, Scottish Secretary] is in large part about opportunity and it's about pride.
“But it's also about – if you're a young person growing up, we don't want you to leave home to fulfil all your ambitions and dreams and with the free port with the jobs and investment and opportunity, that's something you won’t have to do and I think that's a really exciting vision that the people here are a really hungry to go and realise.”
The Prime Minister added that a big ambition of the freeport is that it halts one of the biggest problems faced by the Highlands – depopulation, he said: “I completely believe that it will tackle depopulation.
“That's what levelling up is about. I represent a very rural area in the north of England. We don’t want our young people to have to leave home to fulfil all their dreams and ambitions and that's why if we can bring the investment and the jobs and the opportunity to them, that's what levelling up should be about.
“And that's what free ports do.”
The consortium behind the bid OCF was overjoyed to have come out on top, alongside the bid from the Firth of Forth, as the freeport is set to “bring jobs and business opportunities” north on a scale not seen since the arrival of oil and gas in the 1970s.
In a statement OCF said: “Green Freeport status presents the opportunity to turn Inverness and the Cromarty Firth into a focal point for a thriving, sustainable, homegrown renewables industry able to transform the nation into a net zero economy, become a global exporter of clean energy, technology and expertise, and make a significant contribution to UK energy security.
“It will allow us to harness our resources to compete on a level playing field with other parts of the UK, ensure the establishment of new manufacturing facilities, and attract fresh, sizeable investment to the Highlands.
“The benefits of a Green Freeport centred on Inverness and the Cromarty Firth will be shared across Scotland and the UK, creating an estimated 25,000 jobs. We are delighted that the Scottish and UK governments have listened to industry, which has strongly supported the OCF bid.”
