£8m secured for Swan Hunter shipyard redevelopment

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has secured £8m to help redevelop the former Swan Hunter shipyard on the River Tyne into what hopes to be a hub for the offshore, renewable energy and advanced engineering sectors.

The money is coming via the £330m Growth Deal announced by the Government last year and will allow an old dock to be filled in.  In total, £100m is being spent on the scheme with money coming from the European Regional Development fund, Homes and Communities Agency, the LEP, the private sector and council funds.

North Tyneside council, who are now working with construction group Kier to transform the 13 hectares, will shortly receive the funding to enable it to carry out a key piece of work at the site.

The development includes the creation of the Swans Centre for Innovation, a new business incubation hub for small and medium sized businesses, which is said will be ready this autumn.

The extra £8m received by the LEP is to be used to infill a redundant wet berth at the former shipyard to open up more space to investors.

For more information, help or advice please contact Andrew Davison on 0191 211 7950.