The Oppisition: Former shipbuilding site a frontrunner for new industry

The former Swan Hunter Neptune shipyard at Newcastle, once one of the largest shipbuilding sites in the UK, was purchased alongside a neighbouring site several years ago by Shepherd Offshore, the company owned by former Newcastle United chairman Freddie Shepherd.

Mr Shepherd has since devoted his time to creating Britain's first renewable energy park across the two sites on the banks of the Tyne. His brother Charles – also a key figure in the firm – has already spoken of the family's desire to create a "central hub" in the north east for turbine manufacture.

And the newly-created Shepherd Offshore Renewable Energy Park has already stolen something of a march on it its rivals further down the coast. Last year global manufacturer Clipper Windpower announced the park would be the location for a major new factory which will build some of the world's largest wind turbine blades.

Work began in February and is expected to be complete later this year, with up to 500 people likely to be employed by 2020.

The Humber is also set to face stiff competition from sites along the Wear at Sunderland and, perhaps more significantly, on Teesside. Some regional planners in Yorkshire fear Ministers may attempt to steer more manufacturing work towards Teesside following the loss of the Corus steel factory at Redcar and1,700 jobs.