Since its 2021 designation, the Freeport has attracted £1.5 billion of private investment and created around 1,400 jobs across three tax sites at Ford Dagenham, Port of Tilbury, and DP World London Gateway. To achieve their 2045 targets, the Thames Freeport Board sought a clear plan with proposed strategic interventions, funding options, and a realistic programme.
As masterplanning and planning lead in an EY-Parthenon-led consortium, we brought planning, transport, energy, and development economics together to help shape the Thames Freeport Growth Plan. The plan provides a practical framework identifying nine opportunity sites, 11 spatial area opportunities, and 41 strategic interventions, phased out to 2045, to support the Freeport’s objective.
We devised the approach and led the development of a distinct cluster plan for each of the three tax sites. We focused on enhancing what each place already does well and realistic growth. As part of the single Growth Plan, the cluster plans share priorities, evidence, and delivery logic across the Freeport area.
We focused on three key elements for securing the increase in jobs and investment. The first, sufficient land available to accommodate this growth. Second, land that can be serviced and accessed. This includes energy to meet the needs of business and industry, both today and in the future. Finally, the availability of local labour to support the investment, with the right skills or access to acquire these skills.
Consortium partner The Young Foundation engaged with Community Ambassadors to gather their community priorities, ranging from safety and green economy to digital inclusion. Every proposed intervention was tested against these priorities and what residents want for their communities.
Our transport planners identified barriers to growth, assessing the capacity for freight and people and which interventions could unlock the biggest gains. Alongside this, we established priorities to protect grid capacity and future-proof for maritime electrification. Using our Place model, our development economists were able to forecast gross value added (GVA) and jobs for every opportunity site.
The Growth Plan now gives the Thames Freeport Board something it can act on. At maturity, the plan could unlock £5.8 billion of additional private investment, £2.5 billion of annual GVA uplift, and up to 28,000 new jobs across East London and South Essex. This is growth both communities and industry will experience.
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