East Midlands Freeport held its first public board meeting – an important step forward in terms of open and accountable governance.
The meeting took place on Friday 24 July in the Council Chamber at Rushcliffe Arena, West Bridgford.
Chaired by Nora Senior CBE DL, the meeting brought together public and private sector directors, delivery partners, and officers. They set out how the partnership is working to unlock investment, jobs and sustainable growth across the region.
The meeting also offered local residents and business owners a review of progress to date while also considering emerging risks and agreeing key decisions to support the Freeport’s next phase of delivery.
Freeport directors in attendance represented a broad partnership spanning business, landowners, logistics, local government and regional leadership.
Progress across the sites
Chief Executive Tom Newman-Taylor outlined the Freeport’s purpose: to attract investment, create jobs, improve productivity and help address longstanding challenges around skills, underinvestment and economic performance.
He shared updates from across the Freeport’s three tax sites. East Midlands Gateway 1 has already generated over 850 jobs and several hundred million pounds of investment, attracting businesses including Maersk, CEVA Logistics and Maritime Transport.
At East Midlands Intermodal Park, work with partners is exploring opportunities around decarbonisation, circular-economy manufacturing and future site development, while business cases are being developed to address significant remediation and infrastructure challenges.
At Ratcliffe-on-Soar, decommissioning, demolition and remediation continue following the power station’s closure in 2024, with the site recognised for its location, grid connections and potential role in proposals for an AI Growth Zone.
Communities and skills
The meeting also heard about East Midlands Freeport’s Skills and Communities Equity Fund. In its first year, over 2,000 people have taken part in pilot schemes designed to support workforce development and routes into employment.
Projects include the Primary Engineer schools competition and Road to Logistics, which supports people from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds into training and employment opportunities. The second round of the fund launched this month – the deadline to apply is Tuesday, 6 October.
Answering public questions
There were a large number of questions received from the public prior to the meeting, so they were grouped around jobs and economic impact, employment rights, infrastructure, planning and the environment, and governance.
The Board confirmed that businesses operating within the Freeport remain subject to all UK employment, health and safety, environmental and other statutory requirements. It also reiterated that the Freeport is not a planning authority and owns no land; developments remain subject to normal planning and environmental regulation, including opportunities for public consultation.
Members of the public also raised questions around active travel and the long-term jobs ambition. The Board confirmed that sustainable transport is an important consideration in both individual developments and wider infrastructure planning. On employment, the Chief Executive clarified that the ambition to create approximately 28,000 jobs is a long-term goal, rather than a target for 2031, and acknowledged the need for clearer future communications on delivery milestones and timescales.
The meeting marked the start of an ongoing commitment to transparent engagement, with detailed written responses to all submitted questions published on the Freeport’s website.
Tom Newman-Taylor, Chief Executive, East Midlands Freeport, said: “Opening our Board meetings to the public is an important step for East Midlands Freeport. We are working on decisions that will shape investment, infrastructure and opportunity across the region, so it is right that communities, partners and stakeholders can see how we are governed, understand the issues we are considering and hold us to account.
“Transparency builds trust. It helps us to explain what we are doing and also the role we play alongside local authorities, landowners, businesses and the East Midlands Combined County Authority. We want people to have a clear view of our priorities, the progress we are making and the challenges we need to navigate together.”
You can view the recording of the meeting on the Freeport website.