First building at North East Lincolnshire’s new business park on its way to completion

With the roof now on and the walls being assembled, the first building at North East Lincolnshire’s new business park is well on its way to completion.

Representative of the South Humber Bank’s emergence as a green energy hub, the building is the headquarters of expanding regional firm myenergi. One of the fastest growing businesses within the sector, it leads the way in the design and manufacture of renewable energy products for a global market.

Having outgrown its original base at Binbrook, myenergi is currently operating from the old Wickes building on the Alexandra Retail Park in Grimsby – waiting to move into its 15,500 sq. ft. premises on the business park near Stallingborough early next year. With a current work force of 80, its ambitious plans include doubling that number whilst already planning an extension to its new building, which sits alongside the A1173 just off the A180.

Landlord North East Lincolnshire Council is delighted with the progress so far, with contractor Houlton being managed by the authority’s regeneration partner ENGIE. The latter is responsible for the design and overseeing the construction, which where possible has followed a green agenda – complementing the work that will be carried out in the finished structure.

Wall and roof panels from Kingspan clad the building, with any waste steel panels and offcuts shredded and recycled in the manufacturing process. Cardboard, metal, and vinyl waste and reprocess pallets and chipboard are also recycled into biofuel. Other environmentally aware products include fast-drying floor screed with reduced cement content – this screed is laid thinly and, in comparison to traditional screeds, offers a 65 per cent reduction in emissions of CO2.

The completion of this build will mark a major milestone in the local authority’s ambitious South Humber Industrial Investment Programme, (SHIIP). With a total investment pot put at approx. £42m, SHIIP represents the largest single industrial investment in North East Lincolnshire’s recent history.

Also, part of SHIIP is the A1173 highway improvements, the construction of the new Humber Link Road between Immingham and Grimsby Ports and the development of the award-winning Cress Marsh mitigation site. Running alongside all of this too, is the ongoing work on the main utilities needed to support the new park and the necessary drainage requirements, with ENGIE’s Highways and Technical Design teams guiding contractors throughout.

The arrival of myenergi is further evidence of North East Lincolnshire’s growth as a hub for green technology.

Just a short way from this new business park is the site earmarked by Velocys, which has received planning permission for its new £350m ‘Altalto Immingham’ plant. A joint venture with British Airways and Shell, it will convert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of black bin bag waste into aviation-grade fuel.

Near neighbour to both myenergi and Velocys is EPUKI, which acquired the distinctive-looking gas-fired power station just off Hobson Way in 2017. Subsidiary company EP Waste Management Ltd has received planning inspectorate consent to almost double the capacity of the site, developing a 95MW energy from waste plant. This £300-million project, called the South Humber Energy Centre (SHEBEC), will provide 55 permanent jobs and 600 during construction.

With the renewables’ operation and maintenance (O&M) cluster now firmly established in Grimsby, the signs appear positive for a blossoming green future for North East Lincolnshire, says the authority’s deputy leader and regeneration head Cllr John Fenty.

“The world has a growing green agenda and for a number different reasons, including geographical location, foresight and a vision to invest, North East Lincolnshire and the South Humber Bank is ideally placed to capitalise We are determined not to let this opportunity pass us by,” he adds.

SHIIP, which is all being managed by ENGIE on behalf of the council, has received support funding from the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, (GLLEP), the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, (HLEP), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).