The fabrication yard behind a multi-million pound project which has dominated the Lowestoft skyline for months has called on business leaders to work together to bring more work to the coast.

Sembmarine SLP has completed work on the 1,500-tonne jacket structure for the substation which will serve the £1.5billion Dudgeon offshore wind farm – work which has involved more than 50 local suppliers.

Billions of pounds of further investment is due to be made in offshore wind over the next decade, beginning with the £2.5bn East Anglia One project.

But Sembmarine SLP managing director Paul Thomson warned that Sembmarine SLP facescompetition not only from elsewhere in the UK but from France, Spain, Belgium and Holland for the East Anglia One tender, which will be decided in September.

“We are talking about projects that are going to be developed over the next 10 years, and that’s the pipeline that we need to tap into,” he added

“We want more projects going forward and continuing to attract investment to make sure we have a workforce for the future. We can’t do enough on our own so we depend on others to contribute to the local skills base.”