Representatives from Southampton City Council will partner colleagues from Savills to showcase marine and maritime occupier opportunities in the city, when the annual Seawork International Commercial Marine exhibition comes to Southampton, from 10-12 June 2014.
Two exceptional Southampton marine employment development sites, the Marine Employment Quarter (MEQ) at Centenary Quay and Chapel Riverside, will be on display to tempt occupier interest. The two sites total over seven hectares (17+ acres) and are able to house upwards of 700 employees.
The sites offer prime marine locations, alongside the Port of Southampton, the most productive port in Europe, which includes the second largest container terminal in the UK.
The 3.49 hectare Marine Employment Quarter (MEQ) site at Centenary Quay, which is owned by the Homes and Community Agency has recently gone on the market. This site on the east bank of the River Itchen boasts a waterfront with deep water access and already has:
• Outline planning permission for the indicative scheme including 18,681m2 (201,081 sq ft) of industrial and office uses plus a multi-storey car park, hotel and retail/live/work uses.
• Detailed planning approval for a boat building scheme at the Marine Employment Quarter. The scheme includes three buildings totalling 16,332m2 (175,796 sq ft).
The MEQ is connected to the city centre via the Itchen Bridge. It too boasts excellent road and rail connections, being only 6 miles from Southampton airport, and London is only 83 miles away. The site also benefits from an area of foreshore and riverbed (approximately 250m by 30m) leased from The Crown Estate. The MEQ is part of the regeneration of Centenary Quay and sits next to the development of residential, retail and leisure facilities which is being developed by Crest Nicholson.
The 3.6 hectare Chapel Riverside site is on the west bank of the River Itchen, city side, and is ideal for marine businesses seeking to expand or relocate. It boasts a 500m waterfront onto the River Itchen, is only 10 minutes from the city centre, and neighbours other existing marine businesses. The council, which owns the site, is currently selecting a developer which should be announced later in 2014.
The site also is part of Southampton City Council’s long-term commitment to improve and enhance the city of Southampton, through its City Centre Master Plan. Chapel Riverside forms part of the wider Itchen Riverside, a VIP Project which will create a new neighbourhood along the river’s edge, and a hub for industry, promoting and supporting job creation through marine and maritime skills.
The City Centre Master Plan is committed to providing 5,000 new homes and £3 billion of investment by 2030, and 24,000 new jobs in the longer term. £1.5 billion is already committed within the city and great strides are being made to reach the ambitious goals of the plan.
Councillor Simon Letts, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: “Southampton leads the way in the UK, a position that was confirmed again last year, and is at the heart of the Solent marine and maritime economy. We seek to champion the city as the home of this sector; it’s fundamental to the city’s success that we promote our natural environment and our employment, skills and knowledge assets, to new and existing marine sector markets.
“The city was identified as the second best city in England for ‘Good Growth’ (by PwC) in 2013 and expects to improve yet further in 2014 as more large-scale development comes to fruition; in particular, these two outstanding employment sites. The opportunity for these sites to both increase job creation, but also enhance innovation in the marine sector, in Southampton, are very exciting prospects.”
Martin Hastelow, Head of Savills Southampton Office, said: “Southampton continues to build on its maritime heritage and skill base in the area. Large sites with waterfront access are scarce but those such as The Marine Employment Quarter, (MEQ) at Centenary Quay and Chapel Riverside, now provide opportunities for new development for marine related businesses.”
Southampton City Council will be at stand C37 at Seawork 2014 which will be held at the Canary Islands Fruit Terminal, Berth 103-104, Herbert Walker Avenye, ABP Port of Southampton
For more information about Seawork 2014, please go to: www.seawork.com.