A North-East council has received an £8m boost for its plan to transform an historic Tyneside shipyard into a business and warehouse complex. The 32-acre scheme has already received multi-million pound backing from the Government’s “Growth Deal” for the region.
North Tyneside Council has teamed up with developer Kier to transform the Swan Hunter shipyard — which built more 1,600 ships including 400 naval vessels during its 100 year history — into what it hopes will be a hub for the offshore, renewable energy and advanced engineering sectors. It says the project will create at least 1,000 jobs.
The £100m shipyard regeneration is in line with the borough shifting its strategy toward an export-led economy growth and is being backed with money from the European Regional Development Fund, Homes and Communities Agency, the private sector and council funds.
Now regional regeneration body, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NElep), has confirmed it is adding an extra £8m to fill a wet berth at the site, opening up even more space for potential investment.
“This latest announcement is great news and will enable us to complete another key milestone in our successful development of the Swans site,” commented North Tyneside mayor, Norma Redfearn. “We have been able to secure this funding thanks to partnership working in the region, which has brought councils together to work with the North East LEP.
“This funding — and the region’s £330m Growth Deal as a whole — will not only benefit our borough by maximising the potential of the Swans and other employment sites, but will help boost the wider North-East economy by enabling us to put this area on the map for the offshore and renewable energy sector,” she added.
“The Swans site is very much open for business. We’ve got the infrastructure in place, a development partner actively working with us to provide premises and employers for the site and now this extra funding that will open up even more space for investment.”
One of the first developments due for completion this autumn at the riverside site is a new business incubation hub for small and medium sized businesses, the Swans Centre for Innovation.
Bob Paton is NElep interim chief executive. “Growth Deals were launched to fire up regional economies by creating jobs and supporting key infrastructure projects,” he said.
“The Swans site is a prime example of how this type of investment can be used to successfully create employment and ensure key local developments continue to progress.”
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