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No examples in the UK Kevin. Overseas, plenty. Providing jobs is considered to be among the least of the contributions that ports with the best port-town, port-city relationships make. We can look at Shenzhen in Southern China, Valencia, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Zeebrugge, Hamburg, Antwerp, Zhangjiagang, Port Kelang, various ports in New Zealand, Norfolk (Virginia), Portland, New York and New Jersey, Montreal, Vancouver and many many more overseas ports owned/governed by their local communities (mostly through local and regional governement bodies) that deliver training programmes, building programmes, sponsor bursaries, have founded universities, developed innovative logistics solutions through sponsorship and patronage, pay for regional language education, provide parks and leisure facilities, promoting local and regional tourism, redeveloping derelict sights and returning economic activity to abandonded/under utilised areas, etc and on and on.
These days the port authority/owner/governing body, needs to be so much more than a landlord, job provider or port infrastructure developer. The modern port authority chief needs to be an economic strategist and full partner with community and local government in developing the area holistically. The port operation is the engine for growth. Private Equity ownership and governance most frequently overlooks the role of the port within the whole, concentrating instead on growth in monetary returns for the shareholders and considering community as 'job done' because of the jobs provided directly and indirectly by port operations activity. When the community become the shareholders and the distractions inherent in providing an average 8-9% return on PE investment and possible take-over/resale to another PE company are eliminated as a result, governance and strategic planning take on a much broader view and a more distant planning horizon leading to greater stability and better decision making, especially when a degree of entrepeneurial flair is retained within the organisation and commercial discipline is maintained through the effective use of regularly re-evaluated and updated key performance indicators.