The delivery of the flagship West Midlands Investment Zone, capable of driving more than £5bn of investment and 30k new jobs, got underway last week with the announcement of a £14.5m funding package.
The money will be used to begin planning the necessary infrastructure works at the Coventry and Warwick Gigapark site at Coventry Airport and to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) break into new supply chains.
The funding package, the first money to be made available as part of the Investment Zone, was approved at a meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) Investment Zone Board.
The package includes £2 million for the Gigapark, making the central anchor site – known as Greenpower Park - development-ready for a battery manufacturer and associated businesses in the electric vehicle supply chain. When fully developed, the Gigapark site has the potential to create up to 6,000 new jobs.
The Investment Zone is expected to attract new companies to the region, but the WMCA is also making sure existing West Midlands businesses are able to benefit from the new opportunities created by the Gigapark and the other two Investment Zone sites in Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
The £12.5 million programme will work with small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in the advanced manufacturing sector to provide intensive technical advice, access to a £6million research and development grant fund, and higher-level management training, to help them break into the new supply chains.
This support, set to be launched early next year, will see around 2,000 jobs will be created or safeguarded and an additional £70 million of economic benefits for the region.
Cllr Martin Watson, Portfolio Holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said: ‘This is an important milestone for our ambitious local Investment Zone development. The funding will play a vital role in helping to charge up our regional automotive and future mobility cluster to equip our residents, businesses and supply chain to meet the new opportunities presented by the electrification of transport and industry’.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, said: “This new Investment Zone is a cornerstone of my vision to reignite the economic growth this region has long been waiting for. After years of missed opportunities, we now have a plan that will draw in over £5 billion of private investment and deliver 30,000 new jobs.
“With keen interest already being generated by the first three sites, this funding lays the foundation for business innovation and the creation of high-quality, high-skilled jobs. Crucially though, I’m ensuring that local people have the training and skills they need to take full advantage of these opportunities, driving prosperity for everyone across the West Midlands.”
The Coventry & Warwick Gigapark overall is being brought forward through a collaboration between Coventry City Council, Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council, with its main anchor site, Greenpower Park, being delivered through a Joint Venture between Coventry Council and Coventry Airport Ltd.
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council, said: “Greenpower Park has an important role to play in accelerating the UK’s transition to an electrified economy.
“The WMCA’s approval of the first phase of investment zone funding is a significant step towards boosting our country’s growing battery industry.
“With this strategic investment, Greenpower Park will act as a catalyst for a fully integrated and globally competitive battery ecosystem at the heart of the United Kingdom.”
Cllr Ian Davison, Leader Warwick District Council said: “This is excellent news. We welcome the prospect of this funding which will now start bringing this ambitious concept to life. The huge benefits of this project including the plan to develop a cluster of green manufacturing industries and the creation of thousands of new jobs in the region, are now becoming reality.”
The West Midlands Investment Zone covers the whole region and is powered through three specific sites which benefit from a range of direct funding and in some cases tax incentives.
They will be focussed on driving growth in advanced manufacturing, green industries, health-tech and digital technologies.
The three sites are:
· The Coventry-Warwick Gigapark at Coventry Airport. Anchored by a new battery gigafactory and associated businesses and technologies with a focus on electric vehicles.
· The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter – running northeast from the Birmingham City and Aston universities through Duddeston and Nechells to Aston - will focus on health/med-tech and wider digital technology capabilities.
· The Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor will support the transition to the emerging green sectors such as clean-tech, sustainable construction, cyber security and green engineering through a partnership between the city council and university.
Collectively these sites have the potential to attract more than £5.5bn of private investment into the region and create more than 30,000 jobs by 2034.
In addition, around £1.5bn of business rates over the zone’s 25-year lifespan will also be retained and reinvested here instead of going back into government coffers.
A range of business support and skills development programmes are also being established to ensure regional companies are best placed to make the most of these opportunities, and local people can access new skills and jobs opportunities.