Global businesses commit to making Yorkshire Energy Park their ‘home’

Further leading companies have committed to making the proposed £200 million Yorkshire Energy Park their home – including the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium batteries and electric vehicles.

Listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, BYD Company Ltd is one of China’s largest privately owned enterprises and has confirmed its intention by entering into a commercial collaboration agreement with Yorkshire Energy Park developers.

Situated in the heart of the UK’s growing Energy Estuary, the proposed scheme is located within the boundary of Preston South village in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It will bring together businesses from across the globe, generating a multi-million pound investment boost for the Yorkshire and Humber economy and creating more than 1,000 jobs within one million sq ft of new development, including manufacturing, storage and ancillary office space.

The occupiers will benefit from best value and resilient energy solutions, as well as on-site electricity generation, energy storage facilities and multiple grid connections. An education and research campus, associated on-site accommodation, a data centre, facilities to support new and growing businesses, and sports facilities for the community are also part of the plans.

Sewell and Eco Parks Developments Ltd have partnered with London-based Chiltern to develop the scheme. Most recently, the consortium has appointed Gent Visick as national marketing agents for the scheme, who will work alongside Garness Jones locally.

BYD joins household names including E.ON, Vodafone, Legal & General and SSE Utilities, who have already backed the energy park plans.

Since 1995, BYD has expanded its renewable energy solutions globally with operations in over 50 countries and regions.

Now, subject to planning approval, it plans to design and deliver battery storage for the Yorkshire Energy Park’s occupiers and participate in the proposed on-site National Energy and Digital Technology College through a student exchange programme with partnering Chinese higher education institutes in China.

Jerome Qi, Sales Director at BYD Europe, said: “The Yorkshire Energy Park is the first of its kind and we haven’t seen anything similar in the UK.

“In terms of what BYD will bring to the region, being part of the Yorkshire Energy Park will promote a very strong message that a major global company has chosen this area of Yorkshire to invest in.

“Taking into account this very fast growing market, BYD wants to support with its products and technology. It will bring skills to the region to allow it to become a reference point for this sector in the UK.”

Along with BYD, Asanti Datacentres Limited has also confirmed its commitment to the business park. Asanti is run by a management team with over 50 years’ worth of combined experience in the data centre industry.

The business has committed to an occupational agreement to design, fit out and manage a secure data centre with disaster recovery space, which protects data in the event of emergencies.

Stewart Laing, Founder and Managing Director of Asanti Datacentres Limited, said: “We are very excited by the scale of the opportunity the Yorkshire Energy Park presents and we are already talking to investors.

“Leveraging our decades of experience in the IT and data centre services sectors, our aim is to bring up to 30 high quality jobs, ranging from IT technology specialists to data managers, to the Humber.”

Chris Turner, Chairman of the Yorkshire Energy Park, said: “Confirmation of BYD and Asanti’s collaboration in the project, both commercially and in the proposed new academic and vocational training campus, is to be welcomed locally, regionally and nationally.

“Attracting international companies to the UK in the wake of Brexit is a challenge and support on this level can only have positive economic benefits.

“We are extremely grateful for the support of the local authorities and Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in helping us bring this major, long term energy technology inward investment.”

Although the land for the proposed Yorkshire Energy Park site is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is owned by Hull City Council and the authority gave the go-ahead to the land terms for the former aerodrome site.

Councillor Steve Brady, Leader of Hull City Council, said: “This is great news for the region. The partnership between Hull City Council and the Yorkshire Energy Park will generate multi-millions of pounds for the Humber economy, creating jobs and generating a robust, long-term income stream for Hull City Council.

“A lot of work has been done to make sure the scheme sponsors engage with the statutory agencies to develop the best project for the area. The developers have also committed a significant amount of time to involving the community in shaping the plans and the results of this engagement have led to substantial public support. This will be very important in strengthening the Humber’s position as the UK’s Energy Estuary.”

The proposed development is expected to be heard at East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s planning committee shortly.