£20 Million Investment In Inchgreen Announced In Budget

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced that £20million is to be invested in Inchgreen Marine Park, Greenock.

The funding will enable redevelopment of the dry dock infrastructure plus establishment of a training and skills centre, with completion planned for 2027.

The marine park has already received nearly £10million from the Glasgow City Region Deal which has been invested in a major upgrade of facilities including new utility connections and roadways. Inverclyde Council have also made further investments which will expand the site and improve access to the harbour for larger vessels.

The redevelopment of the Inchgreen dry dock will enable the site to attract new business and stimulate local employment. A key aim is ensuring the marine park can take advantage of increased defence spending being made by the UK Government.

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “For too long, people in Inverclyde have been let down by the Tories in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood. That ends now.

“This Labour government is backing Inverclyde with £20million of funding to support the development of the Inchgreen Marine Park, because we know that with proper investment we can deliver a renewed town, good local jobs and an economy that works for working people.”

Martin McCluskey, MP for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West, said: “This is an incredibly exciting announcement. I promised when I was elected as MP for our area that I would fight every day for funding and jobs. I’ve always known how important Inchgreen is to our future and that is why I made it a priority.

“This direct investment from the UK Government is a vote of confidence in Inchgreen. It will allow the upgrade of the dry dock to a modern standard with new gates and pumps, and the construction of a new training centre.

“Importantly, this investment will also see the dry dock brought into the Inchgreen Marine Park joint venture, ensuring the public sector has a real say in shaping the future of this national asset.

Pictured (left): Martin McCluskey MP and Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer

“The works will prepare the dry dock for modern usage and, ultimately, new highly skilled jobs in the defence and maritime sectors. The commitment to a training centre will also help us train the next generation of shipbuilders and maritime workers here in our area.”

Luke Pollard MP, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: “So much activity is happening on the Clyde — with the construction of the Type 26 Frigates in Glasgow and the upgrade of HM Naval Base (HMB) Clyde as part of the Clyde 2070 programme. It is crucial that irreplaceable sites like Inchgreen remain available for the UK’s maritime industry and for our national defence.”

“The Ministry of Defence sees the potential of Inchgreen and that is why the National Shipbuilding Office have catalogued it as an asset of strategic interest to our national resilience and defence readiness”.

The National Shipbuilding Office state: “Inchgreen Marine Park houses one of the largest dry docks in the UK and indeed, Europe. The site is in a prime location on the River Clyde, close to many commercial facilities and existing defence sites such as BAE Systems and our own HMNB Clyde, which is undergoing significant multi-decade investment. The next phase of that redevelopment — ‘Clyde 2070 programme’ — was announced in June 2025 with an initial investment of £250 million to plan the transformation of the HMNB Clyde facility, which serves as the home for the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service.

“The communities around Inchgreen have great historic ties to the shipbuilding and maritime sector with the dry dock having fitted out the Cunard QE2 in 1968. We believe it has the potential to play an important role in the future of the sector, both in commercial and defence applications.

“The Ministry of Defence is engaged on the potential of Inchgreen as a site that could be strategically important in the future, and the National Shipbuilding Office have catalogued it as an asset of strategic interest to our national resilience and defence readiness. It’s crucial that irreplaceable sites like Inchgreen remain available for to the UK’s Maritime industry.

“The upcoming Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology Action Plan aims to further capitalise on the potential of the sector, including sites such as Inchgreen.”

This article was published by Inverclyde Now