NEWPORT'S unsuccessful attempt to secure freeport status means the city and surrounding area will lose out on an estimated 24,000 jobs.

This week, Rishi Sunak and Mark Drakeford announced new freeports for Angelesey and a joint Milford Haven and Port Talbot project, meaning Newport was the only applicant to miss out.

The city council, which prepared the Newport bid, said jobs created by a freeport "would have given us the opportunity to make a fundamental change to the skills and job opportunities of our existing residents and future generations".

Citing similar disappointment in the race to become the next UK City of Culture, the city council's opposition leader said there were questions over the quality of Newport's bids for lucrative government schemes.

Freeports are special areas within the UK’s borders where different economic regulations apply, including tax and customs incentives to boost investment.

The UK Government said both winning bids in Wales had shown "a strong determination to create high quality jobs in the green energy sectors".

City council leader Jane Mudd said the proposal for a Newport "regional" freeport had "significant local, national and international benefits... that now run the risk of being unrealised".

She said "expert research" had estimated the plan could have brought 24,000 new jobs to South East Wales, "realised the long-term potential" of Cardiff Airport, and "underpinned and complemented" investment in Blaenau Gwent.

"It is disappointing that the potential to leverage significant investment and jobs into deprived areas has been lost," Cllr Mudd added.

Matthew Evans, leader of the Conservatives in the city council, said he was "extremely disappointed" because a freeport "would have been a massive boost" for Newport.

"Questions need to be asked why these bids keep failing", he said, referring to applications to be the 2025 City of Culture and for UK Government levelling-up funding.

These application processes are "extremely competitive" and bidders "have to work extremely hard and go the extra mile", Cllr Evans said, adding: "We have to find out what's going wrong. Others are clearly doing something right and getting the funding."

He also suggested there should have been cross-party work done on the freeport bid.

"We [the council's Conservative group] said we'd fully support the freeport but we haven't received any feedback and didn't see the final bid," he said. "If [the application] was signed by the opposition leader and other parties it would have made sense."

Cllr Mudd said the council was "committed to building on the significant effort already undertaken in the bidding process" and would turn its attention to the UK Government Investment Zones programme.

"It is essential that we are able to attract national and international investment to create many more jobs and training prospects for residents, which would boost not only our city, but also benefit the region and the national economy," she added.