Port investment hoping to secure jobs and growth

Kevin Keable, chairman of the East of England Energy Group, said the investment could create more jobs

A £10m investment at a port should create more jobs, a firm said.

Peel Ports Group has announced the money would be used to redevelop the Northern Terminal at the Port of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk.

The group said the money would be spent on infrastructure to help accommodate the next generation of major offshore wind projects.

Kevin Keable, chairman of the East of England Energy Group which represents businesses across the energy sector, said: "We need to create jobs in this region, create economic growth, so this is the time right now."

It comes on top of a £60m-investment in the Southern Terminal, which the group said would ensure the port could support multiple hydrogen, carbon capture, offshore wind and nuclear energy projects.

The redevelopment project at the port had been earmarked £70m pounds

The new investment was announced at an event at Norwich City Football Club, supported by the East of England Energy Group, of which Peel Ports is a member.

Mr Keable said: "This is really important as it is an investment in the port and is brilliant for the renewable energy market so we can see companies developing more wind farms off our coast.

"We need to use this as a catalyst as there is going to be a lot more investment in offshore wind."

Richard Goffin said the investment would help provide facilities for the future of offshore wind farms

The port's owners said the site was being renamed as the Port of East Anglia to align with plans to have a mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk, who was due for election next year.

Richard Goffin, port director for the South East division at Peel Ports Group, said the event was important to show "the focus" on this type of investment within the region.

He said: "We already have £10m which will provide facilities for the future of all offshore wind in the Great Yarmouth area and beyond.

"We perceive the fact that we can actually provide a regional offering and that is the biggest thing we can provide to the market."

Sheila Oxtoby from Great Yarmouth Borough Council said it was hoped the investment would drive economic growth

Sheila Oxtoby, chief executive at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said she hoped the investment would help secure jobs.

She said the council was "extremely pleased" to see the investment off the back of other work, including the new Herring Bridge in Yarmouth.

"We absolutely welcome the investment but really do want to see this benefit local people, so our focus will be upskilling residents, but also making sure school leavers know the opportunity this investment brings," she said.