Work has started on the creation of Novartis’ environmental legacy to Grimsby.
The pharmaceutical giant has gifted 50 acres of Humber Bank land to the local authority.
It is to be turned over into a wetland that will act as a mitigation site for future economic development along the specially protected zone.
Read more: Novartis buyer outlines what could be next for 'world-class' pharmaceutical complex
The company has just confirmed more than seven decades of production will come to an end this year, with a sale of the industrialised bulk to a US specialist in repurposing plants.
Hopes of attracting an occupier are high, though all jobs will now go following the bombshell announcement in 2018, and two subsequent extensions to operations.
Novartis Ings is boosted by another parcel of land formerly owned by Solenis, the water treatment specialist and neighbour to Novartis on the bank.
It represents a 50 per cent addition to the 100-acre award-winning Cress Marsh site in Stallingborough, brought forward in 2018.
Ian Johnson, site head at Novartis Grimsby, said: “Novartis Grimsby is delighted to leave a lasting legacy towards this important project for the local environment. “Colleagues are enjoying watching the field transform into a wetland habitat, and the creation of Novartis Ings will ensure our contribution and connection is always remembered.”
Mitigation sites provide unique opportunities for companies looking to build or expand in the area. Firms would have previously been required to obtain land for wildlife to offset their developments as a planning requirement, which can delay developments for months and can be hugely expensive. Thanks to the mitigation project, the land is ready and waiting for them.
The contract is being carried out by Lincolnshire-based JE Spence and Sons, who created the first mitigation site, overseen by Roger Wardle, a leading national and international expert in wetland design.
While Novartis Ings will be the second such site, it is the first to be located directly alongside the estuary. As such, it is described as providing an enhanced opportunity to protect the birdlife that uses the river and its mudflats as vital feeding grounds.
North East Lincolnshire Council leader, Philip Jackson, said: “I’m delighted that this second mitigation site is progressing, and would like to thank Novartis for the land, which will benefit the area for years to come and provide a fitting legacy for their time in North East Lincolnshire.”
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