§ 55. Mr. TrotterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will report on the progress made by the Tyne and Wear urban development corporation.
§ Mr. TrippierI am pleased to report that the Tyne and Wear development corporation is making excellent progress. It has embarked on a number of major projects and has already had considerable success in encouraging the private sector to invest in Tyne and Wear.
Grant assistance from the corporation has already helped to attract inward investment from overseas companies such as Mitsumi, Goldstar and Liebherr, securing some £13 million private sector funding and the initial creation of over 600 jobs with the potential for considerable expansion. Work is also now underway at a number of major flagship sites such as Newcastle business park, St. Peters yard, Byker and The Close, Newcastle Quayside. At the business park a 59 acre site is being developed for over 500,000 ft of high quality industrial/ commercial floorspace with the creation of 3,000 permanent jobs. Barratt Newcastle Ltd. is undertaking the development of an imaginative marina village on a 12.5 acre site at St. Peters yard and a prime site at The Close on Newcastle Quayside is being developed for a four-star hotel and offices with the creation of 400–600 permanent jobs. These three projects alone are expected to secure private sector investment of some £78 million..
Total expenditure by Tyne and Wear development corporation since it was established in May 1987 to the end of the current financial year is forecast at £28 million with some £42.5 million private funding having been secured, 1,200 jobs created and over 200,000 sq ft of floorspace provided/refurbished.
These results are very encouraging for the first two years of the corporation's life and when viewed alongside projects now underway there is no doubt that TWDC is playing a major role in bringing about an increase in business confidence and developer interest through its activities and positive promotion of the area.
Further information is available in the annual reports of the corporation.