BRIGG COUNCILLOR WELCOMES 100 NEW JOBS

A Brigg councillor has welcomed the announcement that 100 new jobs are to be created on a new industrial site.

North Lincolnshire Council's deputy leader Rob Waltham, who lives in our town and is one of the three Brigg & Wolds Ward representatives on the unitary authority, has expressed his delight with the news that major car manufacturer BMW is to create 100 jobs through its new import base to be located at the Able UK site in North Killingholme.

It is hoped that this will be the start of further major investment at the site that is the UK’s largest enterprise zone and the capital for renewable energy.
Able UK has worked closely with North Lincolnshire Council to get the Able Marine Development Park and Logistics Park up and running. Together, this represents a £550m investment that will create a total of around 10,000 jobs – BMW being part of this.
Rob Waltham, who is also a member of Brigg Town Council, said: “This is a huge investment by BMW and further commitment that big-name companies want to invest and have a presence in North Lincolnshire at the UK’s largest enterprise zone. Enterprise zones are at the heart of the government’s long-term economic plan, supporting business growth by providing tax breaks and support to new and expanding businesses such as BMW.
“BMW has committed to creating 100 new jobs – this will act as a catalyst in attracting other large businesses to the site.
“This is just one part of the overall development to create Europe’s largest offshore wind park.
“North Lincolnshire provides a great location to do business, with excellent road, sea, rail and air links with its own airport.
“We are committed to providing better paid jobs and doing all we can to attract more businesses to the area. This latest development will benefit not just North Lincolnshire and Humber region, but further afield. This is excellent news.”
Brigg Blog has been following the development of the Able UK industrial development with great interest for some years. We've covered a number of North Lincolnshire Council planning committee meetings where it's been discussed and various parts of the project approved.
However, we suggest the New Year is also the time to start thinking about public transport provision for the site, which is near East Halton and Killingholme. Brigg - and other areas of North Lincolnshire - need bus links to Able UK. There are similarities with the Lysaght's industrial park on the outskirts of Scunthorpe, created many years ago on the site of the former Normanby Park steelworks. It is now well-served by the No 4 bus service from Brigg, Broughton and Ashby. 
Initial forecasts suggested some 4,000 jobs might eventually be created on the Able UK development, which would be fantastic for northern Lincolnshire employment. 
But workers will need to be able to get to and from North Killingholme. Not everyone has a car - particularly those looking to come off the dole, and the "green agenda"  frowns on lots of individual vehicle journeys of some distance to the same destination. Hopefully, there will be talks in the coming months between the council and bus providers to put a meaningful service in place. Subsidies, of the type councils can give to bus firms, will certainly help and prove to be public money well spent, we suggest.