MAYOR Steve Rotheram has unveiled £1.5m funding to drive skills and innovation linked to the Liverpool City Region Freeport.

The LCR Freeport Innovation Challenge Fund is a £750,000 capital grant programme to support projects addressing the Freeport’s 2 key innovation challenges - freight and maritime decarbonisation and digitalisation of trade and logistics.

The fund aims to accelerate the development and deployment of transformative technologies that will enhance the Liverpool City Region Freeport’s economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability.

Meanwhile, the LCR Freeport Skills Infrastructure Grant is a £750,000 capital grant programme designed to support skills equipment and infrastructure projects for providers of education and training relevant to the Freeport target sectors of Logistics, Maritime, Advanced Manufacturing and Green Energy.

Speaking about the funds, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- “Our Freeport isn’t just about lines on a map – it’s about creating real opportunities for local people, attracting investment, and driving innovation in the sectors where we’re already leading the way. We’ve got the potential to be the UK’s gateway to global markets – but to make that happen, we need to back our businesses and our workforce with the right tools and support. These funds will help us do exactly that – by giving local innovators the chance to scale up new ideas, and making sure our residents have the skills they need to take advantage of the high-quality jobs we’re bringing to our area.”

Liverpool City Region Freeport is 1 of only 8 freeports in England. After working in partnership with ports, businesses, local authorities, trade unions and wider stakeholders, its Full Business Case was approved by the UK Government in December 2022.

The LCR Freeport is a designated area covering 45km, where a range of economic incentives are available, covering customs, business rates, planning, regeneration, innovation, trade and investment support. Local councils are able to retain 100% of business rates growth generated by the freeport tax sites – located in Birkenhead, St Helens and Widnes.

Centred on a mix of infrastructure including the deep-water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool – the UK’s biggest western facing port, which already handles 45% of trade from the US – the Freeport is the key coastal access point to the UK’s largest concentration of manufacturing.

In total, £194m has been committed to investments within the Freeport since receiving formal designation from the government in January 2023, £72m of which was secured in 2024/25.

£67.8m of private sector funding has been invested in the xDock 549 site within the 3MG tax site in Halton. With an area of 550,000 sq. ft, the development is the largest speculative industrial and logistics hub in the North West and has now reached practical completion. The site is anticipated to create up to 500 jobs.

The £25m, 220,000 sq. ft. Viking Park was also completed at the 3MG site during the last year and should create a further 250 jobs. The 2 sites will generate £2.2m in business rates that Halton Borough Council will retain to invest in key projects and infrastructure, attracting further investment.

In St Helens, planning approval was granted for phase one of Parkside, the largest of the tax sites, securing £80m of investment to create 800,000 sq.ft of commercial floorspace and a forecast 1,330 jobs.

The key Parkside Link Road, connecting the site to the M6, supported by £9m from the Combined Authority, is complete, enabling construction of Parkside Phase 1 to begin in Q4 2025.

And at Wirral Waters, Finsa, a Spanish manufacturer of MDF products, broke ground on a new £20m UK headquarters in March 2025. This is expected to complete by December 2025.