Riverside Inverclyde (RI) Property Holding has been given planning permission by Inverclyde Council to build a new food and drink ‘incubator’ on Baker Street, Greenock.
Baker Street Food & Drink Enterprises will include six manufacturing units ranging from 45m2 to 95m2, designed for small and medium-sized food and drink businesses. The investment for the project is derived from the Scottish government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and was made public in March 2017.
RI said it hoped the incubator would facilitate growth for businesses that take up residence, with the expectation that they will expand in a sustainable manner before moving to larger premises in Inverclyde.
Room to expand
The building will include shared office space, storage units, research areas and boardroom facilities for its tenants, as well as shower and change areas.
“We have already seen interest in the incubator from businesses and expect to see further demand as the project develops,” said Fiona Maguire, ceo of RI.
“This popular and busy corner of Greenock will have a completely new feel and flow and we look forward to getting started with this project.”
RI will also provide a business growth programme to support the businesses, as well as potential match-funding support for machinery and equipment.
‘Real growth and opportunity’
Commenting on the incubator, councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council’s environment and regeneration convener, said: “The food and drink sector in Inverclyde has the potential to be an area of real growth and opportunity.
“Baker Street will play a key part in this and we look forward to seeing the completed incubator hub.”
Development at the site is due to begin this summer, with a completion date of early 2019.
Dr Gerry McCarthy, chair of RI, added: “This incubator offers Inverclyde some exciting opportunities, not least to grow the number of local producers, but hopefully also to see some of the early companies grow to be success stories and offer employment opportunities.”
Meanwhile, food and drink companies based in Wales are to benefit from a £3M technical and staff development training fund from the Welsh government.