Press Releases - ABLE

‘NOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AT LAST’

25th Oct 07

‘Now we can at last start to establish the Tees Valley as world-class centre for the marine and renewable energy industries of the Twenty First Century.’

That was how Peter Stephenson, Chief Executive of Able UK, summed up the news that, the company has secured approval from Hartlepool Council for its proposals to develop its TERRC (Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre) facility at Seaton Port, Graythorp, as the biggest dry dock in the world, opening up huge opportunities to attract international contracts, together with many hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of investment.

A meeting of the Council’s Planning Committee today approved a series of applications from Able UK for the construction, repair, refurbishment and decommissioning of all types of ships, vessels and other craft, and for the manufacture of wind turbines.

The applications also covered a variety of other works including the construction and refurbishment of quays, the construction of a cofferdam and new dock gates, the installation of a railway track, construction and operation of metal recycling facilities and the erection of industrial and warehouse buildings.

Today’s decision marks a major step forward in Able’s efforts, dating back over four years, to develop TERRC and Mr Stephenson today made clear that, whilst he was pleased that the Committee had given approval, he believed that what he described as ‘a sustained campaign of scaremongering, distortion and misrepresentation’ had proved costly for both the company and the local community.

At the same time he paid tribute to the many organisations and individuals who had ‘supported us throughout this very difficult period and recognised the enormous opportunities offered to put our area at the forefront of modern technlogies in the enviromental field.’

Said Mr Stephenson “In many respects today is a cause for celebration because it means that at last we can move ahead with our plans to exploit the enormous potential of TERRC for a huge range of marine-related and renewable energy activities—and we aim to begin work as soon as possible on the works needed to clinch major construction contracts which can bring around 1,500 jobs to the area over the next two years.

“ At the same time I feel a huge sense of regret—which I know is shared by all those working to attract employment and investment into Hartlepool and the North East as a whole—that this project has been delayed for so long by the activities of organisations and individuals who claim to care about the environment but in reality seem more interested in how many headlines they can grab than the wellbeing of local people and the North East region.

“ Even at the very last moment, literally hours before today’s meeting, we have seen Mr Phil Michaels, a legal representative for Friends of the Earth, apparently seeking to delay matters still further by totally misrepresenting the reason for the deferment of a decision earlier this month, claiming that members of the Planning Committee wanted to await the outcome of the ongoing Planning Inquiry. That was simply not true and I believe his conduct and that of other Friends of the Earth representatives during this whole issue has been disgraceful and has severely tarnished the organisation’s reputation.

“As we have made clear on many occasions, the acitvities of the objectors—and the delays in the Council reaching a decision—have led to major costs for the company, both in terms of lost business and the costs we have incurred as a result of the Planning Inquiry into the first refusal of our plans by the Council—a decision which they did not seek to defend at the Inquiry.

“ There has also been a high price for the community—in terms of the employment opportunities and millions of pounds of wages which have been lost and, I believe, the undermining of efforts to use the talents and skills of local people and bring new investment into the area.

“ However, our task now is to move on as quickly as possible—to begin the major investment in upgrading the facilities at the yard and exploit the enormous potential of the largest dry dock in the world. It is a yard with a proud history—and we are confident it can now have a great future.

“ We need to move quickly in order to ensure that we are in a position to enable work to begin on the major construction contracts in summer next year—and, of course, we will be in a position to begin work on the reclamation and recycling of the six vessels currently berthed at TERRC—including the four ships from the American National Defense Reserve Fleet.

“ I hope that today marks a turning point and that from now on we can concentrate not on the very small minority who have hogged the headlines for so long but the overwhelming majority who want to see jobs and invstment coming into Hartlepool and the wider Tees Valley.”

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