The multi-million-pound RaisE business centre is now officially open following an event earlier this week aimed at businesses from within the Goole area.
Over 50 guests joined representatives from the three key stakeholders in RaisE – East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Siemens Mobility and University of Birmingham – for a first opportunity to see what the centre and its services has to offer.
Several speeches were made by key stakeholders reflecting on the project and its significance to Goole before guests and dignitaries were given an opportunity to tour the building for themselves and learn more about what RaisE will deliver.
RaisE business centre, located within the Goole 36 Enterprise Zone, provides 3,200 square metres of commercial floor space made up of grade-A office and workshop accommodation. This space is available to let for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The striking three-storey building, with a prominent frontage to Tom Pudding Way, includes spacious, modern conference rooms, smaller ground floor meeting rooms, communal break-out areas and free on-site car parking for occupants and visitors. A welcoming communal café hub that will act as a focal point for the business park will be operational in the coming months.
Each office and workshop, set over the ground and first floor, ranges from between 236 square feet to 840 square feet in size. Costs start at around £25 per square foot, which includes power, heat, light and most importantly easy in /out terms.
The second floor is now the office base for Siemens Mobility, who are the catalyst for creating the Goole Rail Village. Their presence within RaisE and the new rail factory site opposite the business centre will create up to 700 new jobs.
It is also estimated that the business centre, via its occupiers, will create over 90 new job opportunities now businesses are beginning to move in.
To help fund this £8.1million capital project grant money was secured including£1.5m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and £1m from the Getting Building Fund, via the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP.
Councillor 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.”
Florian Stoesser, Finance Director, Rolling Stock and Customer Services for 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 in to a thriving UK rail hub for years to come.”
Alex Burrows, Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education, at the University of Birmingham, 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 R&D 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.”
Construction of the RaisE business centre was undertaken by the independent contractor Willmott Dixon, in conjunction with East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Infrastructure & Facilities team.
For further information on RaisE, please visit: www.investeastriding.co.uk. Or contact Amanda Hoggart, business centre manager, at amanda.hoggart@eastriding.gov.uk
Looking for a place to hold your next meeting or conference? Contact the reception team on raise@eastriding.gov.uk
