£20m Fish Park plan for Fleetwood revealed

PLANS have been unveiled for the £20m development to build a long-awaited new Fish Park in Fleetwood.

The park will be powered by a £60m energy-from-waste plant built as an integrated development by Preston-based Reform Energy.
 
It could create up to 150 new jobs and will safeguard around 600  already involved in the fish processing businesses in the town.
 
Fish processors will be offered the opportunity to move into state-of-the-art units on the new 140,000sq ft development on a 10 acre site alongside Amounderness Way purchased from Associated British Ports.
 
The link between the fish park and the power plant is a key element in the economic case for the long-awaited project and demonstrates the principle of generation and regeneration which underpins the development by Reform Energy.

The energy from waste plant on Jameson Road will create around 40 jobs locally during its construction, commissioning and operation, and will provide a competitive source of ‘green energy’ to operate the refrigeration and cooking systems at the new fish park.
 
In February Reform Energy received a conditional offer for a £2.5m grant through the Regional Growth Fund to assist with creating the infrastructure for the project.

A formal launch event and public consultation prior to the next stage of the planning process for the new Fish Park is scheduled for May 5 at the Three Lights in Fleetwood, between noon and 8.00pm, when details of the project will be on display.

Reform Energy chief executive John Potter said: “This development will bring a new economic energy to Fleetwood with the creation of the Fish Park and also addresses two issues dominating the green agenda – delivering more energy generation from sustainable resources and reducing waste going to landfill.
 
“Fleetwood will become a flagship location in the UK for energy recovery technology, and Reform Energy intends to use the plant as a showpiece for other generation and regeneration projects across the region.

“The energy recovery system we have chosen is designed to efficiently use waste material from commercial sources that would otherwise only be disposed of to landfill.

“Sophisticated technology and management of the site by our expert team will mean little or no local impact but enormous benefits in terms of green energy and new employment.”
 
Wyre Borough Council cxhief executive Garry Payne said: “The Fish Park development is a fantastic opportunity which will contribute millions of pounds to the local economy, and could result in 150 new jobs as well as securing the 600 jobs already represented by the fish processing industry in Fleetwood.
 
“Fishing is a proud part of the town’s heritage and is now secured as a vibrant element in the town’s future.

“There have been proposals for a new fish park in Fleetwood since I arrived here in 2006.  

“A feasibility study identified substantial opportunities for growth and a new Fish Park has figured in the strategic plans for Wyre, and the Blackpool and Fylde Economic Growth plans along with the vision for the area from the Local Enterprise Partnership.  Everybody wants it – but now we have the means to make it happen.”

The combined recovered energy output of the plant is sufficient to meet the needs of up to 8,000 homes with around 10 megawatts of electricity, and up to 24 megawatts of heat created using around 80,000 tonnes of recovered commercial waste material as fuel.

The new plant will substantially reduce waste going to landfill, at the same time recovering energy that would otherwise be lost.
 
Planning permission for the plant was originally granted in 2011 and since then the Reform Energy team has been working with partners to assemble the complete package of funding and site acquisition to deliver the energy recovery plant and the fish park.

The fish industry in Fleetwood already generates £135m a year, and employs more than 600 people, making it the town’s single biggest form of industry.