Grimsby’s former Tioxide site is being relaunched, with the aim of returning it to a major industrial location.
Associated British Ports has appointed agents to market the 89-acre site, with more than one million sq ft of development space highlighted.
It is being pitched for manufacturing, logistics and low-carbon energy producers, and was announced on the day Rolls-Royce listed Grimsby as a potential site for a nuclear reactor factory.
Read more: Equinor and SSE Thermal to buy Saltend power station for £341m
A bid was submitted by the port, alongside Pioneer Park at Stallingborough by the local authority via the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Together they are two of eight on a national shortlist just released.
Equinor has recently revealed it is on the search for a second Humber site too.
Production ended for Tioxide in 2009, having provided decades of employment since its post-war build.
British Titan Products, as it began life, produced titanium dioxide, a whitening agent used in the manufacture of scores of consumer and construction products, employing more than 1,500 at its peak.
Bought and cleared by RPM Industrial Services, with the iconic 350ft chimney stack falling in a controlled explosion seven years ago, ABP swooped for the space, adding to the Grimsby footprint.
Two phases were initially brought forward as hard-standing car terminals - to cope with the impact Brexit brought on trade flows. These headwinds have now eased dramatically, with the global microchip shortage leading to high demand for new cars at dealerships as soon as they enter the UK. it had led to ABP realising the space isn't necessarily needed for cars, allowing it to look at other options.
Branded The Future Grimsby site, it can accommodate units ranging from 7,500 sq ft to 210,000 sq ft.
ABP regional director for the Humber, Simon Bird, said: “Together with ABP’s other Humber ports - Immingham, Hull, and Goole - it provides an unparalleled gateway for the trade connecting businesses across the UK, Europe, and beyond.
“It also offers access to industrial and logistic hubs across the North East and the East Midlands.”
It is the latest land release in ABP’s port-centric manufacturing initiative which will make more than 1,000 acres of development land available.
Mr Bird said Grimsby is one of the UK’s leading automotive ports and a major hub for the offshore wind industry. It also continues to handle a range of other cargoes, while retaining strong links to the fishing and food industries.
“ABP has a strong history of working collaboratively with a range of industry sectors,” he said.
“The recent focus on supply-chain pressures makes a close working relationship with the logistics sector crucially important for the wider national economy.
“Grimsby is also at the forefront of low carbon energy and carbon-capture innovations. We are looking to partner with businesses that can benefit from our financial commitment and experience of creating design-and-build bespoke accommodation.”
A standalone power plant that previously served Tioxide remains, while at the western end, Novartis is preparing to leave its huge complex, with US-based broker and redeployment specialist International Process Plants to take the 170-acre site on.
CBRE and Humber-focused PPH Commercial are advising ABP on The Future Grimsby opportunities.
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