Novartis to leave inward investment legacy to town with estuary mitigation zone
SWISS HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST IS GIFTING 35 ACRES OF THE LAND IT HOLDS TO LOCAL AUTHORITY
DEPARTING pharmaceutical giant Novartis will leave an environmental legacy on the South Humber Bank. The Swiss healthcare specialist is gifting 35 acres of the land it holds to the local authority, to be used as a further mitigation zone to ease inward investment into North East Lincolnshire. A significant wetland area has already been established as part of its transformational South Humber Industrial Investment Programme, a £42 million package of highway, infrastructure and building to create ‘oven-ready’ sites - with hopes of attracting 3,000 jobs. The immediate desire is to protect or balance off the 400 wellpaid roles set to go at Novartis as the clock ticks down on 70 years of drug production at the sprawling Grimsby site, following the shock announcement in Sepptember 2018. Novartis Grimsby y site head, Ian John- son, pictured, said d when the mitigation n zone idea was raised it t was readily accepted d as a way in which the e company could leave a legacy of opportunity. “Clearly the day that we say goodbye for r the final time will be e an extremely emotional one for many, who have enjoyed a lifetime’s career at Novartis Grimsby.
“We did not want to simply leave without leaving a legacy, a gesture that would remind others of our time here, but also be one that assisted and encouraged growth in the years to come.
“Novartis Ings offers a chance for that growth to be both industrial and environmental.”
The undeveloped land right on the Humber Bank sits west of the site, with the company once bringing forward plans for an onshore wind turbine to green up the energy intensive operations. It was chucked out due to concerns about the impact on migrating birds, with the Humber Estuary holding a Site of Special Scientific Interest title.
The new mitigation land will be named Novartis Ings and will enable Engie, under council direction, to create another wetland bird and wildlife mitigation site.
It will join the national awardwinning Cress Marsh at Stallingborough, and because of the location, is seen as providing an enhanced opportunity to protect the birdlife that uses the rivers and its mudflats as vital feeding grounds. At the former, a gas-fired power station sits between the estuary and the site. North East Lincolnshire Council’s ecology officer, Rachel Graham, has been responsible for the development of Cress Marsh and is delighted at the prospect of this second site.
“When you look at what has been achieved, its scale and size and the bird and wildlife we are attracting, it makes the prospect of developing Novartis Ings extremely exciting,” she said. Thanking Novartis, North East Lincolnshire Council’s leader, Cllr Philip Jackson, said: “The opportunity for us to develop this wonderful site on the banks of the Humber is great and we look forward to seeing it progress. The whole SHIIP programme is
We did not want to simply leave without leaving a legacy, a gesture that would remind others of our time here, but also be one that assisted and encouraged growth in the years to come
Ian Johnson, Novartis Grimsby site head
extremely important to the future prosperity of the North East Lincolnshire and we appreciate the gesture that Novartis has made in ensuring its legacy will be an extremely positive one.” There was no update to be had on further interest in the industrial element with golden goodbyes underway as the varied production lines come to a close - with some having been given brief stays of execution as timelines have shifted.
It is still hoped a buyer may emerge, with six interested parties known to have toured the 220-acre site earlier in the process.
One speculated to be, PX Group, which swooped for the BP Saltend chemicals park 11 miles up river, has said the Grimsby site isn’t on the radar, despite underlining a desire to grow its presence in the Energy Estuary. Significant investments are now heading to its East Yorkshire park - from hydrogen production to rare mineral processing - with PX having taken it on six months before Novartis hit the market.
A repeat on the South Bank is sought after as one of several clearly defined options.