Answer to jobs is blowing in the wind; Firm's cash boost as Swan yard sold.

Byline: ADAM JUPP

MOVES to breathe fresh life into the North Bank of the Tyne were given a twin boost.

A green energy firm planning to come to Tyneside has won a pounds 4.4m Government grant.

Clipper Windpower was awarded the cash by the Department for Energy and Climate Change to develop its prototype wind turbine blade.

The firm says it will manufacture the parts in the region and is expected to occupy a factory being built by marine giant Shepherd Offshore on the site of the former Neptune shipyard, in Walker, in Newcastle's East End.

The announcement, made by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, came as it emerged the old Swan Hunter yard has gone into new ownership.

The yard, where ships were built for 140 years, has been bought by North Tyneside Council and regional development agency One North East, with plans underway to turn it into a so-called Learning Village.

That forms part of a wider strategy to revitalise a 600-hectare swathe of land, from Walker, to Bull Ring Dock in North Shields.

North Tyneside mayor Linda Arkley, said: "Swans is key to the development of the whole North Bank of the Tyne site - and particularly to the future regeneration of Wallsend.This purchase of the site is a significant step forward."

As revealed in later editions of last night's Chronicle, Clipper was one of three firms given cash by DECC yesterday. The money provides a boost to the firm's Britannia project, which will see it make the world's biggest offshore wind turbines, which will be sited off the British coast.

It is hoped Tyneside can be turned into a global centre of excellence for green energy, taking advantage of its great location and fabrication sites along the banks of the Tyne.

The New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec), in Blyth, Northumberland, is also vying for Government cash to bolster its turbine testing facilities, which would fit-in perfectly with Clipper's plans.

Chris Pywell, One North East Head of Strategic Economic Change, said: "The announcements together show that new and renewable energy and marine offshore industries will play a key role in driving forward the North East economy."

The plans for a Learning Village on the Swan Hunter site will see education and training provided alongside new industries and businesses, all with links to the marine world.

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REGENERATION: Plans could bring thousands of jobs to the Tyne