Member Article

150 new jobs to be created in Fleetwood

Plans for a new £20m fish park have been unveiled which will create 150 new jobs and safeguard 600 jobs in Fleetwood.

The new fish park will be powered by a £60m energy-from-waste plant as an integrated development with North West based Reform Energy plc.

The energy from waste plant on Jameson Road will create around 40 jobs locally during its construction, commissioning and operation, and will provide a competitive source of ‘green energy’ to operate the refrigeration and cooking systems at the new fish park.

Fish processors will be offered the opportunity to move into state of the art units on the new 13,000 sq m development located on a 10 acre site alongside Amounderness Way purchased from Associated British Ports.

In February Reform Energy received a conditional offer for a £2.5m grant through the Regional Growth Fund to assist with creating the infrastructure for the project.

Reform Energy chief executive John Potter said: “This development will bring a new economic energy to Fleetwood with the creation of the Fish Park and also addresses two issues dominating the green agenda - delivering more energy generation from sustainable resources and reducing waste going to landfill.

“Fleetwood will become a flagship location in the UK for energy recovery technology, and Reform Energy intends to use the plant as a showpiece for other generation and regeneration projects across the region.

“The energy recovery system we have chosen is designed to efficiently use waste material from commercial sources that would otherwise only be disposed of to landfill. “Sophisticated technology and management of the site by our expert team will mean little or no local impact but enormous benefits in terms of green energy and new employment.”

Wyre Borough Council chief executive Garry Payne said: “The Fish Park development is a fantastic opportunity which will contribute millions of pounds to the local economy, and could result in 150 new jobs as well as securing the 600 jobs already represented by the fish processing industry in Fleetwood.

“Fishing is a proud part of the town’s heritage and is now secured as a vibrant element in the town’s future.

“There have been proposals for a new fish park in Fleetwood since I arrived here in 2006. “A feasibility study identified substantial opportunities for growth and a new Fish Park has figured in the strategic plans for Wyre, and the Blackpool and Fylde Economic Growth plans along with the vision for the area from the Local Enterprise Partnership.

“Everybody wants it – but now we have the means to make it happen.

“Reform Energy’s new Energy from Waste plant has provided a catalyst to turn the plans into a reality – delivering generation and regeneration for the area, and providing power for the new facility at a very competitive price, as well as assembling investment for the development.

“Government funding secured by ourselves in partnership with Reform Energy has given it more impetus and it is hugely satisfying to see the project getting off the drawing board and becoming a reality.”

Planning permission for the plant was originally granted in 2011 and since then the Reform Energy team has been working with partners to assemble the complete package of funding and site acquisition to deliver the energy recovery plant and the fish park.

The fish industry in Fleetwood already generates £135m-a-year, and employs more than 600 people, making it the town’s single biggest form of industry.

It sees fish caught in other areas, mainly Scotland, brought into the town by road and prepared in Fleetwood for markets all over Britain and also abroad.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .