A major milestone has been reached in an ambitious plan to bring marine manufacturing and support industries back to the Upper Clyde.
Malin Group, a Glasgow-based engineering company with a worldwide operation whose Clydeside roots go back to the Victorian era, wants to create a marine manufacturing hub at Old Kilpatrick – one of Scotland’s highest unemployment areas.
Now planning consent has been granted by West Dunbartonshire Council for Phase One of the Scottish Marine Technology Park (SMTP) in the shadow of the Erskine Bridge.
Phase One includes a large fabrication facility, consent for a deep-water jetty with a 1100Te ship hoist – the largest of its kind in Scotland – and a remediation strategy required to develop the former oil storage site.
If fully realised, an economic impact study has found the SMTP will result in almost 1000 new jobs.
Malin Group managing director John MacSween said: “We are pleased and excited to have planning permission for the first batch of buildings and quayside equipment, including a HeavyLift deep water berth and a 1100 te mobile ship hoist.
“It is an important step on the journey, and it clearly demonstrates a willingness from the local authority to have industrial businesses, and the employment they bring with them, back on the Clyde riverside with the presence of exciting structures for the marine environment.
“We believe the Clyde has much to offer to the wider marine manufacturing community again and we are committed to making land and marine facilities available to any companies who can make use of them on a fair and equitable basis.
“As a show of faith we will be bringing our own fabrication division to the SMTP to kick start the development.”
Councillor Diane Docherty, Vice Chair of West Dunbartonshire Council’s Planning Committee, said: “The heritage of the Clyde is something we are extremely proud of and so it is pleasing to see efforts to bring this site back to life in such a meaningful way for our area. The potential for almost 1000 new jobs created is brilliant news for our residents.”
