A NATIONALLY STRATEGIC MANUFACTURING PORT ASSET
A proposed marine-facing manufacturing and staging facility, servicing the energy and infrastructure industries.
“At their current capacity, the UK’s ports are a ‘key bottleneck’ to progress and urgently need investment.”
Ports are the lifeblood of the UK economy. Not only do they connect us to the rest of the world, they connect UK regions, resources and services to each other, allowing companies to manufacture and move otherwise hard-to-transport materials, linking Britain’s dispersed business and industries.
As the UK government focuses on developing offshore wind energy, demand for right-sized, modern, flexible port facilities will continue to grow. To maintain the nation’s sovereign resilience and security, we must develop additional ports – particularly those capable of supporting the manufacturing industries that underpin renewable energy initiatives.
Channel Gateway will provide a regional focus and a mobiliser for Portland, Dorset, the South-West and the wider United Kingdom, providing a key catalyst to green growth.
Why Balaclava Bay?
Balaclava Bay, adjacent to the existing Portland Port, has been selected as the proposed location for Channel Gateway due to a unique combination of key factors.
ACCESSIBILITY
A water depth of at least 16metres is available on the quay at all states of the tide, with depths of more than 20metres within a few km of the quayside to accommodate heavy-lift vessels.
OPTIMAL CONDITIONS
The site benefits from natural protection against prevailing weather and has one of the lowest tidal ranges in the UK, at around 2.5 metres.
ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSIDERATE
The proposed port will primarily consist of new land created in the sea, avoiding need for dredging and avoiding environmentally sensitive areas.
SPACE
The site offers up to 50–60 hectares of high load-bearing platform with 700–1000 metres of quay forming an exceptional deep-water berthing capacity.
EMPOWERING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Up to 1,000 local long-term jobs will be created, together with more than 5,000 jobs in the supply chain all supported by a training and skills development programme.
SUPPORTING THE LOCAL ECONOMY
The Channel Gateway team will collaborate with Portland Port and other local energy developers to drive synergies. Channel Gateway is part of the Dorset Clean Energy Super Cluster, who has forecast a UK GVA boost of up to £5.5bn.
ENHANCING LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Driving and re-balancing economic growth on a local, regional and national scale. Levering Dorset’s and the South West’s advantages to play a pivotal role in delivering a national offshore wind industry and supply chain, putting the Great South-West on the national and international map.
TEAM
The team behind Channel Gateway is Morwind, a regional developer that is re-imagining ports and infrastructure for a clean energy future, acting as a catalyst in driving green growth.
A collaborative developer based in the South-West, the Morwind team has deep-rooted local and UK-wide knowledge. They are driven to support the acceleration of decarbonisation sector whilst embracing sustainable development and the creation of social value. Between them, the six members of the Morwind team have more than 150 years of cumulative energy and marine infrastructure development, technical and operational experience and extensive relationships across industry, government and stakeholders.
Find out more: www.morwind.co.uk
OUR PARTNERS
Feasibility study to develop offshore wind port facility at Portland gets go-ahead
‘Channel Gateway’ secures funding from The Crown Estate’s Supply Chain Accelerator
Wind port facility would bring thousands of jobs to Portland, Weymouth, Dorset and the South West, creating up to £2.7 billion of economic benefit
CONTACT
If you have any general questions about Channel Gateway or would like to reach out to the team behind the project, please complete the following contact form and we will endeavour to respond to you within two working days.
Media enquiries
All media enquiries should be directed to:
media@morwind.co.uk
01202 701828
