Business boom is leaving Birmingham lagging behind

The Royal Bank of Scotland's Regional Growth Tracker shows Staffordshire's economy grew by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months up to March this year.

Wolverhampton and Sandwell were close behind on 2.1 per cent, but both still outperformed Birmingham, which managed a 1.9 per cent increase.

But bottom of the list for the West Midlands is Dudley which floundered at 0.4 per cent – one of the worst performers in the country.

The borough's troubled town centre has long been touted for a revamp and ambitious projects are already in the pipeline to redress the balance including a £50 million regeneration project.

The borough's council is also hoping to transform land in Halesowen bordering the M5 into a business hub creating 6,000 jobs, although thousands of residents have lobbied to halt the plans due to concerns that greenbelt land will be lost.

The RBS report comes as welcome news for Wolverhampton, which is still reeling from the recent announcement that the Goodyear factory on Bushbury Lane is to close after 90 years.

The report put the region's success down to growth in the ICT, metals manufacturing and retail sectors.

City councillor Peter Bilson, cabinet member for city assets, said: "This is great news for the city and it shows a lot of activity is coming to fruition now after a long period of preparation.

"We have the new development at the i10, the Youth Zone will be ready soon, work will start to improve the Mander Centre over the next year and Jaguar Land Rover are expanding their site in the city.

"This is already great news for the city's economy but when you also factor in job boosts on top of that, it is exciting for everyone."

In Sandwell, overall performance has no doubt been boosted by Cab Automotive in Tipton.

The firm was recently confirmed as the fastest growing business in the borough.

The company, which makes vehicle interiors for major auto companies, saw its turnover increase by 68 per cent to £33m in the last 12 months.

Managing director Richard Semmens said: "One of the two key things that has really helped us is our willingness to invest; we have spent a lot of money over the last few years, which has been supported by Sandwell Council's help gaining Regional Growth Funding.

"But also we are diversifying in our range of customers."

There have been well publicised business boosts in Staffordshire already this year including the recent announcements that Jaguar Land Rover is to expand creating 1,000 jobs while Amazon confirmed in June that 100 more posts were coming to its Rugeley plant.

The first ever Ironman event in the county was also estimated to have generated £2.7m for the local economy.

County council leader Philip Atkins said: "Counties are the engine rooms of the UK economy and Staffordshire especially is an area that delivers.

"You have only got to look at how we are growing and rebalancing our economy. Employment is below one per cent, major employers are moving here and there are huge infrastructure improvements going on."