Summer start for work on £200 million Goole railway factory set to create 700 jobs

AN MP has hailed the latest milestone in plans for a £200m railway factory at Goole that could create up to 700 jobs.
Artist's impression of the Siemens Mobility factory at GooleArtist's impression of the Siemens Mobility factory at Goole
Artist's impression of the Siemens Mobility factory at Goole

Detailed proposals have been submitted to East Riding Council for the Siemens Mobility development, on the Goole 36 enterprise zone site, where state-of-the-art tube trains for the Piccadilly Line on the London Underground will be built under a £1.5bn contract with London Underground Limited.

The scheme received outline planning consent in July 2019, with the latest plans seeking approval for 592,000sq ft of manufacturing, assembly, warehouse, testing and offices, in two phases.

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Pending approval by East Riding councillors, construction should start in the early summer, with the first phase up and running in 2023.

A detailed planning application has been submittedA detailed planning application has been submitted
A detailed planning application has been submitted

Conservative Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy said on Monday: “This is fantastic news and another great step forward.”

Mr Percy said the contract for the Piccadilly Line should put Siemens in prime position for other lines such as the Bakerloo Line upgrade, adding that “the positive decision for HS2 is very important for the longer term future of the factory”.

The MP said work had started on Croda’s £7m worldwide distribution hub, which is next door.

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He said: “The £25m Town Deal, which we have just secured from the Government, means we can dovetail plans to make the town a more attractive place to live and work with these developments and ensure local people have a clear route map to these jobs. We want the pay cheques to stay in the Goole area.”

As well as creating hundreds of permanent jobs, the development will create 250 jobs during construction, and potentially another 1,700 in the supply chain.

Sambit Banerjee, managing director, rolling stock and customer services, for Siemens Mobility Limited, said the facility would set a “new benchmark for the UK rail industry”.

He added: “These plans paint an exciting picture of manufacturing, commissioning and ancillary facilities forming the heart of a pioneering rail village driving digital technology and data-driven innovation that will benefit millions of rail passengers.”

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The development site is next to a large nature reserve on the outskirts of Goole, and Siemens said the plans included setting aside a “habitat enhancement area” with open water wetlands.

Glenn Widdowson, from Friends of Oakhill, said the group could not comment until they'd seen the detailed plans.

However the nature group has raised concerns about the building of three accesses from Tom Pudding Way during the breeding season.

Commenting on the council’s online planning portal, the group said the use of heavy machinery has the potential to “kill, injure, disturb and damage” nests of birds such as skylark, meadow pipit and little ringed plover and are disappointed that alternative habitats have not been provided.