A £60million shipyard transformation could create 1,800 jobs. Pembroke Harbour was officially reopened today (21 August) as a ‘world-class centre’ for wind, wave and tidal power projects.
According to its initiators, this £60 million project will help transform the site into a renewable energy port by creating a centre for the development of marine energy while also attracting other maritime industries.
As well as a “super-sized slipway”, there are areas where companies can build and store equipment and components. Developers have also created new workboat pontoons and office and workshop facilities. It is hoped the changes will attract renewable energy companies and create up to 1,800 new jobs, the BBC reported.
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The project has been funded by both the UK and Welsh governments and private investors and is part of the Swansea Bay City Deal.
The proposals faced opposition from local and national heritage groups, who warned of potential “catastrophic” impacts on the port’s historic buildings and infrastructure. However, Pembrokeshire Council and ultimately the Welsh Government decided that the economic benefits of promoting the marine energy sector “far outweighed” concerns. Pembroke Dock is one of the poorest parts of Pembrokeshire and Wales.
The port of Pembroke Dock at Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire holds an important place in British naval history. The town itself was founded as a Royal Navy dockyard some 200 years ago, and among the more than 260 ships built there were five royal yachts before the boatbuilding docks closed in 1926. During World War II it was the world’s largest military flying boat station, but the RAF facility also closed, and today two cargo ferries operate daily to Rosslare in Ireland.
