Inverclyde Council has given planning permission to Riverside Inverclyde (RI) Property Holdings, the organisation charged with delivering the economic redevelopment of Inverclyde in the west of Scotland, for a new food and drink incubator in Greenock. The incubator will be the first of its kind in Scotland and will help the food and drink sector to double its turnover to £30 billion by 2030.

Baker Street Food & Drink Enterprises will be located at the corner of Greenock’s Baker Street and Drumfrochar Road and it is part of a £3.5 million project, which includes a road realignment delivered by Riverside Inverclyde for Inverclyde Council. Six manufacturing units ranging from 45 to 95 square metres will also include shared office space, storage unit, research and board room facilities for its tenants, showers, and changing areas. The incubator aims to entice the growth of small and medium sized food and drink businesses, together with the growth for the businesses located at Baker Street.

“We have already seen interest in the incubator from businesses and expect to see further demand as the project develops. Alongside the road realignment project, this popular and busy corner of Greenock will have a completely new feel and flow and we look forward to getting started with this project,” said Fiona Maguire, Chief Executive of Riverside Inverclyde.

“This incubator offers Inverclyde some exciting opportunities, not least to grow the number of local producers but hopefully to see some of the early companies grow to be success stories and offer employment opportunities,” added Dr Gerry McCarthy, Chair of Riverside Inverclyde.

The Baker Street incubator has received a funding of £900,000 from the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and the development is due to start this summer, with the completion date set for early 2019.