HAMPSHIRE will get a “massive” boost from the new Solent Freeport, with up to £1.75billion pumped into its economy and new jobs appearing “very quickly”, a minister has said.

Levelling up minister Dehenna Davison visited Southampton and Marchwood on the day the government gave the official go-ahead to Solent Freeport and its counterparts in Plymouth and Teesside.

The news means £25million in “seed corn” funding, after which councils will be able to keep tens of millions of pounds in business rates from the freeport sites around the region.

Ms Davison told the Daily Echo: “I think the best way that I can probably describe a freeport is it’s an area based around a port where we give special incentives – like tax measures, for example, and special customs measures, to really attract investment and really maximise the opportunities of the port.”

She added: “What freeport status will allow is further international investment coming in, creating great opportunities for UK businesses but good, high-quality, skilled jobs here as well, so that not just the local economy will benefit from that but the entire UK economy will benefit too.

“We’re estimating it could be around about £1.75bn of direct investment coming here into the freeport site and the region, which is absolutely incredible in terms of figures and the point is this is going to bring about benefits right here.

“It means jobs created right here for local people to benefit from, people spending more money in the local economy, so that the entire region will benefit.”

She said the freeport’s operators were in “some very intense, detailed talks” and “things are going to start happening very quickly”.

She was speaking at Solent Gateway in Marchwood, which is a “customs site” with simplified customs and tariff arrangements. It is also a “tax site” where businesses will not pay rates for five years.

Brian Johnson, chair of the Solent Freeport, said people were already enquiring about setting up businesses in the freeport areas.

“We’ve got a big buy-in from the region and it’s good to see all our councils working together to do the right thing for the region,” he said.

“I think we’ll see new jobs within the year but also you’ll see the fruits of that seed corn money, the £25m that’s going to start that pool of retained rates.

“You will see, as soon as the new year comes, a series of announcements about how we’re using that money to work with the private sector, to make more of it, to make it match-funding, to do really key developments in the area in infrastructure, in skills training, green technology, in innovation space, so you will see those announcements over the first half of next year.”

New Forest District Council’s Conservative leader, Cllr Jenny Clear, said: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I think it should be grabbed with both hands. The opportunities that it will bring into the district are just fabulous.”

The council’s former leader, Cllr Edward Heron, who sits on the freeport board, said it was an opportunity to show that “green economic growth” was a “win” for both jobs and the environment.

“The key to this for the Forest really is going to be around skills,” he said.

“We’re working already with our schools and colleges to make sure that this is going to create jobs that our young people can access and that we give people the training.”

He added: “We’ve got to make sure this opportunity is going to bring prosperity and opportunities for residents, whether they’re starting their careers or whether they’re in their careers looking to upskill.”

Southampton City Council’s leader, Labour’s Cllr Satvir Kaur, said: “Any and all investment into the city and the region is fantastic and we’re fully supportive of it.

“If anything we’ve seen us losing out on government investment to places in the north, so it is really important that Southampton and places in the south aren’t forgotten.

“This offers a great opportunity but we do need to ensure that it delivers for local people and local communities. It’s not just Southampton but a regional effort and I know local authorities and the freeport board have been working extremely hard for years now to make this a reality and all it does is offer an opportunity.”

Peter Taylor, president of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The freeport will play a crucial part in ensuring that the region can fulfil its strategic role to the UK. It can provide job opportunities for generations to come.

“It will help to address the levelling up challenges which the region faces. It will facilitate the creation of much needed sustainable career opportunities for many, particularly in innovative and dynamic sectors such as marine, autonomy, and other digital focused areas of the economy. In doing so it will attract inward investment interest to the Solent region.

“The prospect for future generations being able to thrive in our region as a truly inspiring place to live and work has been given a great boost by this announcement.”

Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith added: “At every opportunity, I have been pushing government to provide more investment for Southampton, as for too long the challenges we face here haven't been taken seriously by those in charge of allocating investment funding across the country.

"It will be a significant boost for our city to have a freeport, and I hope this demonstrates that the government’s levelling up strategy is more than just a nice idea and will instead have real benefits.

“I am keen to work with those locally including businesses and the council to make the most of this exciting opportunity.”