One of the most exciting waterfront development opportunities in the country has now been unveiled.
Plymouth City Council is inviting preliminary expressions of interest in Phase 3 of the Oceansgate Enterprise Zone in Devonport.
Docks and jetties which once saw the departure of Royal Naval ships could welcome state of the art marine manufacturing, heralding a new era in the history of one of the largest dockyards in Europe.
The 35 hectare complex features three docks – ranging from 84m to 145m long – which are suitable for many marine industry dockside operations and offer marine specialist companies a unique expansion opportunity.
The dry dock facilities can be reinstated and the site has the capacity for deep water testing. Significant interest has already been generated in the site and the Council is now inviting informal expressions of interest from marine businesses for all or parts of Phase 3
Council leader Ian Bowyer said: “This site has extraordinary amount of potential. “It’s a unique opportunity. There is nowhere quite like it – a former naval site, with access to deep water in the country’s first marine enterprise zone.
“This is a once in a life time opportunity for developers to become part of a very exciting story. As Britain’s Ocean City we have some 300 marine and maritime related businesses here and a wealth of knowledge and expertise recognised across the world. Developing this site means we can capitalise on what Plymouth is great at.”
Construction work on phase one of Oceansgate is due to start early next year.
The £7.5m project, which has planning permission, will see the creation of offices and industrial units at the site’s gateway. The facilities have been designed to be flexible and adaptable so they can include office, design suites, testing labs and training rooms for technology development and prototype production spaces as well as workshops for engineering and manufacturing.
It also takes into account the historic nature of South Yard – which is five times the size of Royal William Yard and reflects the quality of the Plymouth Limestone buildings that exist on the site.
The Council will receive responses until 1 February 2017 when it will review all the submissions. If businesses do not submit an Expression of Interest during this time it will not exclude them from any future formal processes that will be in place.
Tim Western, head of the Exeter office of property consultancy JLL, which is marketing the Oceansgate site as joint agents with William Lean, said: “Oceansgate presents a unique opportunity for the creation of a world-class hub for the marine industries with opportunities for research, innovation and production in a collaborative environment. We will be working closely with the council to identify an appropriate development partner for phase 3 of the project that has the credentials to transform this site into a leading marine cluster.
“It’s a really exciting project and one that will cement Plymouth’s already strong reputation in this sector. We have already received interest from both national and international occupiers and developers and expect this to grow over the coming months.”
