South Tyneside to boost offshore wind supply chain

£500,000 in funding will be invested in a Manufacturing Zone near Equinor and SSE Renewables O&M base

South Tyneside Council in north-east England has secured £500,000 in funding to support businesses in the region’s offshore wind supply chain.

The funding, from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), will be used to develop a Manufacturing Zone covering 800 square metres of re-purposed space at the Jarrow Business Centre.

The facility is due for completion in June 2021.  

It is located near to the new Equinor and SSE Renewables operations and maintenance base at the Port of Tyne in South Shields.

The port is expected to create “significant” supply chain opportunities in supporting the development of the new Dogger Bank offshore wind farm.

The new facility will provide 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.

North East LEP investment board chair Andrew Moffat (pictured, left) said: “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 one and tier two 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 in South Tyneside and Sunderland.”

Councillor 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 O&M 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.”