Member Article

£1.9m Centre for Innovation to boost North East energy SMEs

The region’s small and medium-sized businesses in the energy, marine and offshore sectors are set to benefit from a specialist business centre set to soon open in North Tyneside.

The £1.9m Centre for Innovation at Swans, on the north bank of the River Tyne in Wallsend, will provide new and flexible business accommodation in a prime location.

As an Enterprise Zone, Swans offers a number of benefits for companies locating to the site before March 2018 including up to five years’ business rates relief and a simplified planning scheme.

The Centre for Innovation is set to be open for business by late autumn, and is expected to attract significant interest from SMEs looking for a combination of prime location and flexible facilities.

The development has involved the conversion of two floors of a five storey office block owned by North Tyneside Council, to deliver a total of 10 units for rent ranging from 17 to 242 square metres in size.

The ground floor space has been configured to offer one large open plan office at 242 square metres and four smaller offices ranging from 17 to 26 square metres, creating an overall floor area of 330 square metres for one business. The first floor offers nine medium to small offices.

Other facilities include a modern reception area, meeting rooms and kitchen facilities.

Kier Property are the development partner for the project, and in keeping with Swans’ site designation as a Low Carbon Enterprise Zone, the work has been carried out to prioritise energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Other parts of the building complex - which are currently occupied by Swan Hunter North East Limited for marine design, Graspan Frankton for training in the marine sector and Shoney Wind - will continue to be used by them.

The new Centre for Innovation is part of a raft of significant developments which are progressing rapidly at Swans, as part of North Tyneside Council’s ongoing work to transform the world-famous former Swan Hunter shipyard into a hub for firms linked to advanced engineering, marine, renewable and sub-sea sectors.

Elected Mayor for North Tyneside, Norma Redfearn said: “This latest development creates a unique offer at Swans for small and medium-sized businesses, particularly those involved in the renewable energy and marine sectors.

“We expect the Centre for Innovation to attract significant interest from firms looking for that unique combination of prime location, flexible facilities, great infrastructure and close links to other firms within the sector.”

The Centre for Innovation project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government, securing just over £1m of ERDF investment.

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