PLANNING consent has been secured for a new food and drink incubator in Greenock.
Riverside Inverclyde Property Holdings, the organisation responsible for delivering the economic redevelopment of Inverclyde, has received the green light from Inverclyde Council for the incubator, described as a “first of its kind” in Scotland.
Baker Street Food & Drink Enterprises will be built on recently cleared land and is part of a wider £3.5 million project including a road re-alignment being delivered by Riverside Inverclyde for the council.
Six manufacturing units will be developed with the aim of enticing the growth of small and medium sized food and drink firms. The incubator will aim also to “facilitate growth” for the Baker Street businesses, with the expectation that they will expand in a sustainable manner before moving onto larger premises in Inverclyde, allowing a “constant flow” of new firms to move in.
Fiona Maguire, chief executive of Riverside Inverclyde explained, “We have already seen interest in the incubator from businesses and expect to see further demand as the project develops. Alongside the road realignment project, this popular and busy corner of Greenock will have a completely new feel and flow and we look forward to getting started with this project.”
Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council’s Environment and Regeneration Convener added, “The food and drink sector in Inverclyde has the potential to be an area of real growth and opportunity. Baker Street will play a key part in this and we look forward to seeing the completed incubator hub.”
The development is due to start this summer with a completion date of early 2019. The Baker Street incubator is being support by £900,000 from the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF).
