Plan for £6m hub revealed to create a transport innovation centre in East Yorkshire

A planning application for the innovation hub has been submitted to East Riding of Yorkshire Council by property developer Wykeland Group, on behalf of Siemens Mobility.

The centre is proposed to be built at the Goole 36 enterprise zone site, close to junction 36 of the M62 motorway, and is aimed at accelerating the adoption of technology within the rail industry.

The £6m building will be the first phase of an innovation cluster known as the Rail Accelerator and Innovation Solutions Hub for Enterprise (RaisE), which will complement a £200m rail manufacturing facility being developed by Siemens Mobility on a neighbouring site.

RaisE will have a key focus on providing research and development support and will offer a facility for start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), predominantly linked to rail industry supply chains and include spaces for collaboration, possibly on a cross-sector basis.

The project is linked to the development by Siemens Mobility of a facility to manufacture and commission state-of-the-art trains for the expanding UK market at the Goole 36 site.

Siemens Mobility is proposed to be the main occupier of the top floor of the first phase building, where support functions for the rail manufacturing facility will be based.

The new application also indicates that further research and development facilities are expected to be established to the north of the first building on a five-acre site that forms part of a total of 104 acres that will accommodate the wider Siemens Mobility development.

Earlier this year Siemens Mobility secured outline planning permission from East Riding of Yorkshire Council for 80,000 sq m (860,000 sq ft) of manufacturing, commissioning, warehouse buildings and stabling sidings, as well as offices. The new reserved matters planning application for the 3,200 sq m (34,400 sq ft) building is the first detailed proposal for the development of the site.

Siemens Mobility is currently finalising detailed plans for the manufacturing facilities, which are expected to be submitted to the council early this year. Pending approval for those plans, construction is expected to begin by early summer, with the first phase of manufacturing facilities scheduled to open in 2023.

Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director, Rolling Stock and Customer Services, for Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “We have been working closely and collaboratively with partners to bring these exciting proposals forward.

“As well as accommodating support teams for our new rail manufacturing facilities, this building and other later related facilities will offer significant benefits to partners from industry and academia.”

He continued: “This is the first phase of development of a cluster of facilities focused on innovation and research and development that will create a high-tech centre of excellence for the UK rail industry.

“The objectives of RaisE are consistent with our ambitions to establish a world-class rail village at Goole, combining manufacturing facilities with digital-led innovation to drive technological advances across the rail network and industry.”

Dominic Gibbons, Managing Director of Hull-based Wykeland Group, said: “We are delighted to be working closely with Siemens Mobility as the development partner for this exciting facility.

“The RaisE centre will provide a first-class environment for innovation and collaboration and also set the quality benchmark for the further development of this key, strategic site.”