Location: South Yard
The Freeport’s tax site at South Yard will support the marine and defence sectors by providing a focal point for technological advances in these arenas. It is the South West’s prime location for marine and maritime capability.
PASD Freeport is the only Freeport location across the UK with defence innovation space.
The South Yard site:
- Harnesses the innovation potential of Plymouth and South Devon Freeport key sectors and sub sector specialisms predominately in defence and marine autonomy
- Provides direct waterfront access to docks, deep water jetties, land, offices and workshops for testing, trialing and prototyping
- Enables a purpose built innovation centre aligned to the collaborative requirements of Plymouth and South Devon Freeport’s energised ecosystem which will include industrial units and mezzanine office space.
Location
The South Yard site comprises 31.9 hectares on the southern edge of Devonport Dockyard, one of the largest dockyards in Europe. The site is owned by the Ministry of Defence therefore additional associated security restrictions will apply. The property offer is a unique complex of land, industrial buildings, offices, docks, jetties and slipways available for commercial use.
This dynamic ensures that all property leasing opportunities are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis by land owners for their relevance, security considerations and the overall positive impact and growth opportunities they will bring to South Yard within the specific sectors of marine and defence.
Opportunities
There are multiple regeneration opportunities across the whole site, including projects where flexibility in thinking and a partnership approach will help us to unlock opportunities, enabling us to bring forward suitable projects at pace.
Terms
Lease terms are available for specific sites / buildings / docks / facilities on application, and will vary depending on the age and condition, and the location and nature of the building being considered.
Access to South Yard is robust and restricted for security reasons. Further details of the procedure for obtaining access for staff based in South Yard, and for visitors and deliveries, will be made available following an expression of interest.
Similarly, the use of the various sites / buildings / docks / facilities in South Yard may be subject to restrictions for security or operational or health and safety reasons, details of which will be made available following an expression of interest.
Gateway Policy
The PASD Freeport recognises the importance of maximising additionality to the UK economy by attracting new high value investment within target sectors to the Freeport. These sectors are advanced manufacturing and engineering with a particular focus on marine, defence and space including low carbon applications.
This will be realised through establishing robust governance and management structures which align prospective tax and custom site tenants with the delivery of the identified Freeport benefits and objectives. The adoption of a Gateway Policy mitigates against risks to delivery of these benefits by providing clarity on the eligibility of prospective businesses and/or organisations into the Freeport sites.
To read PASD Freeport’s Gateway Policy please click here.
Building / Unit
Location
Space (sq m / sq ft)
Further information
Services
SO15
Ground Floor 983 sq m or 10,530 sq ft
First Floor 633.4 sq m or 6,818 sq ft
Detached 89.5 sq m or 963 sq ft
Approximate age of building: Mid 19thC
Construction Type: Two storey solid masonry structure with pitched roofs.
Main Use of Building: Mixed Industrial/Office/ Storage
Two storey solid masonry structure with various aluminium sheet covered pitched roofs, constructed in mid-19th and modified throughout its history. There are also a number of associated ancillary outbuildings.
3 phase electric
Mains gas
Mains water
SO16
Ground Floor 239.2 sq m or 2,275 sq ft
First Floor 78.4 sq m or 845 sq ft
Approximate age of building: 19thC
Construction Type: Stone walls, pitched roofs.
Main Use of Building: Mixed Office/Storage
The building is a limestone construction with three separate pitched roofs.
Mains electric
SO23 (North Smithery)
Ground Floor 976.5 sq m or 10,510 sq ft
Approximate age of building: 1818
Construction Type: A solid masonry walled structure with a hipped valley roof upon timber trusses and cast iron columns.
Main Use of Building: Storage
Historic England Listing: Grade II*
No services
SO33 (Heavy Lifting Store)
Ground Floor 273.5 sq m or 2,945 sq ft
First Floor 303.2 sq m or 3265 sq ft
Approximate age of building: 1840
Construction Type: A two storey stone structure with a double pitched roof.
Main Use of Building: Mixed Industrial/Office/ Storage
Historic England Listing: Grade II
Mains electric
Mains water
SO69
Ground Floor 166.2 sq m or 1,790 sq ft
First Floor 35.4 sq m or 380 sq ft
Approximate age of building: 1922
Construction Type: Two storey cast/wrought iron framed building with masonry wall and traditional cut timber metal clad pitched roof.
Main Use of Building: Workshop
3 phase electric
Mains water
S128/S148/S149/S150
(Saw Mill)
Ground Floor 1,185.6 sq m or 12,760 sq ft
First Floor 1,185.6 sq m or 12,760 sq ft
Basement 1,185.6 sq m or 12,760 sq ft
Approximate age of building: 1859
Construction Type: Traditional solid stone construction.
Main Use of Building: Other
Historic England Listing: Grade II*
No services
3 Jetty
The jetty runs in a North/South direction and is approximately 35m long.
Number 3 Jetty is in South Yard and faces the Hamoaze and lies between No. 2 and No. 3 Docks, and No. 2 & No. 4 Jetties.
The area may be used for external work and/or storage with access to the water.
PASD Freeport South Yard tenants:
Babcock International
In February 2023 the Freeport welcomed the announcement that Babcock had secured a multi-million pound contract in partnership with Devon defence vehicle designer and manufacturer Supacat.
This contract will deliver 90 new jobs and has enabled Babcock to expand their operations in the Freeport’s South Yard tax site.
First Freeport tenant lands multi-million pound contract and delivers new jobs to Plymouth
PASD Freeport South Yard tenants:
M Subs
In July 2023, international innovator in marine autonomy and defence contractor, M Subs, which operates in both Texas, USA and Plymouth, signed a lease agreement to expand business operations into Freeport’s South Yard site.
Contact us
For further information about the opportunities available at South Yard please contact the PASD Freeport team via info@pasdfreeport.com