A multi-million pound business centre within Goole’s developing train manufacturing cluster has opened.
RaisE - Rail, Accelerator and Innovation Solutions Hub for Enterprise - has been brought forward by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and launched with the backing of key stakeholders Siemens Mobility and University of Birmingham.
More than 50 guests joined the senior representatives, taking the first opportunity to see what services it has to offer
Read more: London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for transport funding clarity as he tours new Goole train plant
The striking three-storey building provides 3,200 sq m of commercial floor space, including grade-A offices and workshop facilities aimed at SMEs, while providing the office base for Siemens as it delivers the huge £200 million facility in the vicinity.
Located on Tom Pudding Way within the Goole 36 Enterprise Zone, conference and meeting rooms as well as break-out areas are also included, with a cafe to serve the wider business park to open in the coming months.
It is hoped more than 90 new jobs could be created, with businesses attracted by the wider development, where 700 people will be building new trains - initially for Transport for London.
Cllr Jonathan Owen, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “It really is fantastic to see the RaisE business centre in Goole become operational and this exciting project, alongside the rest of the ‘Rail Village’ is brilliant news for Goole and the surrounding areas.
“The relationship between the three key stakeholders has ensured we now have an example of how the public sector, industry and academia can work together to ensure Goole continues to be shown as a town on the rise.”
A total of £8.1 million was secured to fund the facility, including £1.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund and £1 million from the Getting Building Fund, via the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Florian Stoesser, finance director for rolling stock and customer services at Siemens Mobility, said: “RaisE is a key component of the Rail Village we are developing in Goole and will play a pivotal role in developing long term skills for our industry through closer collaboration with the supply chain and with our partners; University of Birmingham and East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
"We are delighted for our Goole team to now be based on the top floor of this fantastic building and encourage many of our industry partners to join us here and further build Goole into a thriving UK rail hub for years to come.”
It was built by Wilmott Dixon, in conjunction with the local authority’s infrastructure and facilities team.
Alex Burrows, director of enterprise and innovation at the Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education at the University of Birmingham, also spoke at the event. A second phase build will see a centre of excellence for rail research and innovation developed as part of a £50 million plan.
He said: “We are delighted to be a part of this hugely positive and exciting collaboration alongside East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Siemens Mobility UK. The ground is now set to develop the innovation culture and the capabilities that the UK rail industry must adopt in order to thrive in a highly competitive global market.
"This unique partnership bringing together the University of Birmingham, the local authority and a leading global OEM can ramp up the research and development capability in the North. Being a part of RaisE will open doors to SMEs from across the UK and overseas to build their knowledge and their ability to develop new products and solutions and bring them to market more quickly and effectively. RaisE will quickly become a natural home for innovative and creative SMEs to develop, to collaborate, and to thrive in the vast global rail market.”
