Piling works have commenced on a new operations and maintenance facility for Great Yarmouth.
The £24.8mn partnership project is striving to build on the offshore renewables sector which has been established off the east coast and the Enterprise Zone covering sites in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It is expected that the main construction phase will span 12 months, involving 190mn of river quay being refurbished and upgraded, together with new vessel pontoons and the delivery of a revised road layout and associated infrastructure being created, optimising the land available for future development.
The project was commissioned by Norfolk County Council and brings together Great Yarmouth Borough Council and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). It has also benefited from an additional £3.4mn funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities, helping to further develop it for occupancy. It has also recently been announced as the preferred location for Vattenfall’s operations and maintenance base for its Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone.
Commenting on the development, Kay Mason Billig, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “The offshore energy sector provides Great Yarmouth and Norfolk with arguably the single most important economic opportunity for a generation.”
Billig pointed out how while the oil and gas industry had been a mainstay of the local economy for more than 50 years now, the recent emergence of the offshore renewables sector has handed Great Yarmouth’s port, supply chain and skills base with the chance to enjoy “Hugely significant growth and investment”.
Billig continued: “By preparing the site for further development and making it ‘tenant ready’ which this additional funding will enable, we hope to harness the full potential of both the site and our new river crossing as quickly as possible. This will stimulate much needed housing and employment growth across the region whilst supporting our environmental goals through investment in green energy and help safeguard the UK against recent energy price rises seen in global markets through increased domestic production.”
