CITY leaders have handed over their bid to bring the Government’s Green Investment Bank to Newcastle.
The council is hoping it will beat 30 other entries, including bids from Sunderland and Teesside, to bring the influential funding body to Tyneside.
Business Secretary Vince Cable will be asked to say this month where he thinks the £3bn loan organisation should be based. It is thought the successful bidder will become a leading location for investment as major international firms seek to influence bank chiefs.
Officers preparing the bid for the council have cited Tyneside’s strong renewable energy/low carbon industry as an example of how the bank would be based next to many of its own priorities if the Government picks Newcastle.
Already the city has strong links in offshore wind power, with Newcastle University and Blyth’s National Renewable Energy Centre bringing in international business.
The North East, the council says in its bid, is the location for two centres for offshore renewable engineering.
Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes said: “Our city is uniquely placed to be the home of the Green Investment Bank. We already have a strong financial services sector to build upon and we have been voted the country’s most sustainable city for two years running.
“We have a long history of sustainability here and our green credentials leave us well positioned to give the bank a good home. We know the competition will be tough, but this is an honest upbeat assessment of what we have to offer.”
Bank bosses will be responsible for the specific location, but Newcastle has a building stock built to the highest environmental standards.
Options include buildings near St James’ Park, including the Citygate building, the former Northern Rock tower in Gosforth or even space in the as yet unbuilt Gateway Building on the Science Central site.
The bank bid includes a statement from Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia, setting out why Virgin had been happy to invest in Newcastle with the purchase of Northern Rock.
She said: “Virgin Money is lucky to be based in some great locations across the UK and the reception we received in North East and Newcastle specifically, when we acquired Northern Rock, was something very special.”
