Member Article

LEP kickstarts regeneration of former Blyth power station site with £600k

The North East LEP has kickstarted the development of the East Sleekburn Enterprise Zone project with £600k of funding.

The former Blyth power station brownfield site was designated an Enterprise Zone in 2012, with the view to attracting investment from the offshore sectors.

Arch The Northumberland Development Company has been granted the funding to pay for preparatory remediation and design studies at the site, which is adjacent to the site earmarked for the proposed RES biomass plant which recently fell through.

Paul Woolston, chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership said: “There are 10 Enterprise Zones sites in the North East LEP area and they are all at different stages of development. Some have buildings completed and businesses operating, creating several hundred jobs, whilst others are more challenging and at earlier stages of development.

“East Sleekburn is likely to be a more challenging site to develop as it is transformed from its former days as the old Blyth power station site. We need to get this work underway as soon as possible and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership can help to make this happen.

“We have agreed to loan funds from the North East Investment Fund for all the preparatory work. The work will reveal what works need to happen to the site to attract business, what infrastructure is needed, and what needs to be done to get the site market ready. We welcome the Chancellor’s announcement in the Budget to extend the financial incentives for EZ sites for a further three years, which should really help in securing a long term future for this site. “

The site is central to plans to attract strategic investment to south east Northumberland and develop its offshore industry supply chain, creating jobs and economic growth for the area.

Sleekburn will be marketed to the offshore industry to create a cluster around the neighbouring Narec site and deepwater docking facilities at the Port of Blyth.

The funding will also be used to produce design development guidance highlighting the opportunities and constraints of the site. This work is expected to take around six months to complete.

Peter McIntyre, Arch Group managing director, said: “Obviously, as a former power station site it has some key infrastructure but we need to assess the degree to which a regeneration programme will need to be implemented to make the site attractive for further investment.

“The aim is to create a major deepwater facility for use for offshore industries, generating significant jobs, investment and partnerships between the Port of Blyth, Narec and the broader Northumberland supply chain.

“This is at the heart of Arch’s core strategy to enable brownfield sites for strategic investment, creating jobs and wealth for the broader Northumberland economy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .