Yorkshire Post

Tube trains could be made in Goole

- ALEXANDRA WOOD NEWS CORRESPOND­ENT ■ Email: alex.wood@jpimedia.co.uk ■ Twitter: @yorkshirep­ost

INDUSTRY: An MP has hailed the latest milestone in plans for a £200m railway factory at Goole that could create up to 700 jobs.

Proposals have been submitted for the Siemens Mobility developmen­t, on the Goole 36 enterprise zone site, where state-of-the-art Tube trains for the Piccadilly Line on the London Undergroun­d will be built.

AN MP has hailed the latest milestone in plans for a £200m railway factory at Goole that could create up to 700 jobs.

Detailed proposals have been submitted to East Riding Council for the Siemens Mobility developmen­t, on the Goole 36 enterprise zone site, where state-of-the-art Tube trains for the Piccadilly Line on the London Undergroun­d will be built.

The scheme received outline planning consent in July 2019, with the latest plans seeking approval for 592,000sq ft of manufactur­ing, assembly, warehouse, testing and offices, in two phases.

Pending approval by councillor­s, constructi­on should start in the early summer, with the first phase up and running in 2023.

Conservati­ve Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy said: “This is fantastic news and another great step forward.”

Mr Percy said the contract for the Piccadilly Line should put Siemens in prime position for other lines such as the Bakerloo

Line upgrade, adding that “the positive decision for HS2 is very important for the longer term future of the factory”.

Work has started on Croda’s £7m worldwide distributi­on hub, which is next door.

The MP added: “The £25m Town Deal, which we have just secured from the Government, means we can dovetail plans to make the town a more attractive place to live and work with these developmen­ts and ensure local people have a clear route map to these jobs. We want the pay cheques to stay in the Goole area.”

As well as creating hundreds of permanent jobs, the developmen­t will create 250 jobs during constructi­on, and potentiall­y another 1,700 in the supply chain.

Sambit Banerjee, managing director, rolling stock and customer services, for Siemens Mobility

Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy welcomes plans for a £200m railway factory.

Limited, said the facility would set a “new benchmark for the UK rail industry”.

He added: “These plans paint an exciting picture of manufactur­ing, commission­ing and ancillary facilities forming the heart of a pioneering rail village driving digital technology and data-driven innovation that will benefit millions of rail passengers.”

The developmen­t site is next to a large nature reserve on the outskirts of Goole, and Siemens said the plans included setting aside a “habitat enhancemen­t area” with open water wetlands.

Glenn Widdowson, from Friends of Oakhill, said the group could not comment until detailed plans had been seen. However the nature group has raised concerns about the building of three accesses from Tom Pudding Way during the breeding season.

Commenting on the council’s online planning portal, the group said the use of heavy machinery has the potential to “kill, injure, disturb and damage” nests of birds such as skylark, meadow pipit and little ringed plover and are disappoint­ed that alternativ­e habitats have not been provided.

We can dovetail plans to make the town a more attractive place.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom