A world famous Tyneside shipyard is being transformed into a multi-million pound council-backed incubator and development hub for marine and offshore businesses.
Rebranded as Swans — the former Swan Hunter shipyard at Wallsend — is being converted to flexible office space and advanced engineering workshops aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises within the sub-sea, oil, gas and offshore renewable energy sectors.
Work is about to start on the £1.9m first phase of the scheme to turn two floors of a five-storey North Tyneside Council owned block into 16 office suites ranging from 1,130 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft in size. The first new tenants are expected to be installed by late spring next year.
The three remaining floors will continue to be occupied by Swan Hunter North-East Ltd for marine design, Graspan Frankton for training in the marine sector, and offshore consultancy, Shoney Wind, but all the tenants will benefit from the upgraded reception and conference facilities.
The Swan Hunter yard, which ceased shipbuilding operations in 2006, takes up a major chunk of the River Tyne North Bank Enterprise Zone. “North Tyneside Council is working hard with its partners to ensure the future success of the prestigious Swans site as a prime business cluster location,” explained the authority’s elected mayor, Norma Redfearn.
“We expect the hub will attract significant interest from firms looking for that unique combination of prime location and flexible facilities and will further enhance what’s on offer at Swans and really add value to what North Tyneside can offer companies wishing to locate to the site,” she said.
Kier Property will carry out the refurbishment work on behalf of the council, which will continue to own and manage the building. It’s hoped that companies will remain within the hub as they grow, creating a cluster of sector knowledge and expertise.
The new bespoke complex is the latest element in the authority’s master plan for the 34-acre riverside site. Infrastructure improvements already underway at Swans include new internal link roads, a new bridge on Benton Way for heavy goods vehicles, and dredging and quay repairs.
North Tyneside Council has secured a total of £26m of funding so far to kick-start the scheme, with grants from the European Regional Development Fund, Homes and Communities Agency, the North East LEP Growing Places Fund and Single Local Growth Fund.
The former Tyneside yard, to the east of Newcastle, is almost as legendary as the ships it built. In 1903 C.S. Swan & Hunter took control of the site specifically to bid for the prestigious contract to build RMS Mauretania on behalf of Cunard. It was successful and not only built the Blue Riband-holding liner, but soon after launched RMS Carpathia which rescued survivors from RMS Titanic.
