Growth funding secured for advanced and offshore manufacturing zone in South Tyneside

Funding has been secured to create a Manufacturing Zone within Jarrow Business Centre in South Tyneside, to support high growth businesses in the advanced manufacturing and offshore energy supply chain.

South Tyneside Council has been awarded almost £500,000 from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), to develop the Manufacturing Zone, which will provide around 800m² of re-purposed space at its Jarrow Business Centre.

The scheme will provide affordable, high quality manufacturing space and incubation support for high growth potential SMEs operating in the advanced manufacturing and energy sectors in South Tyneside, creating and sustaining employment opportunities and supporting productivity, innovation and competitiveness.

The new Manufacturing Zone, due for completion in June 2021, is located in the heart of an established manufacturing area, and will be located just a few miles away from the new Equinor and SSE Renewables Operations and Maintenance base at The Port of Tyne in South Shields, which is expected to create significant supply chain opportunities in supporting the development of the new Dogger Bank Wind Farm.

The facility will provide much-needed quality accommodation for new and growing companies and support the advancement of the South Tyneside offshore cluster and those operating within the wider North East offshore supply chain.

Cllr John Anglin, Lead Member for Regeneration and Economy said: “The North East is a leading location in England in the offshore energy sectors, particularly offshore wind, which is where the future lies. With its River Tyne location, the Manufacturing Zone at Jarrow Business Centre is suitably placed to support local supply chain SMEs to benefit from the significant opportunities in the offshore wind sector including the eagerly awaited Equinor and SSE Renewables Operations and Maintenance base for Dogger Bank Wind Farm in South Shields.

The refurbishment of the space will provide SME businesses from within and outside the borough with the affordable, high quality manufacturing space they need, while providing new job opportunities to the residents in the region in the key sectors of advanced manufacturing and offshore energy.”

Andrew Moffat, chair of the Investment Board at the North East LEP added: “One of the aims of the Local Growth Fund is to support the development of economic infrastructure in the region. The Manufacturing Zone at Jarrow Business Centre will offer high quality advanced manufacturing space. This will provide the ideal base for smaller businesses wishing to serve larger Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers across a range of manufacturing sectors, enabling them to benefit from manufacturing supply chains operating from two of the North East’s strategic economic assets, the River Tyne, and the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) in South Tyneside and Sunderland.”

The Local Growth Fund is supporting major capital investments to promote innovation, economic and skills infrastructure and sustainable transport as part of the North East Growth Deal.