i54 Business Park extended by 60 acres with 1,000 new jobs on the way

The scheme, delivered by the City of Wolverhampton Council, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council, will create more than 1,000 new jobs.

The current i54 business park is occupied by multi-national businesses including Jaguar Land Rover, Moog, ISP and Eurofins.

Following investment of more than £1 billion, it has a workforce of around 2,700 people, with half of the jobs held by people living within a 10-mile radius.

In addition to the three councils’ investment, there has been strong support and financial commitment from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The extension includes 850,000sqft of fully-serviced factory platforms ready for new occupiers to build units on for advanced manufacturing, technology, training and innovation.

Wolverhampton Council leader Councillor Ian Brookfield, said: "The team have done an exceptional job to overcome the challenges of the pandemic and make this site ready for new occupiers.

"i54 plays a major part in the lives of thousands of people in Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire, and our joint investment at i54 has secured hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and has brought thousands of jobs to the area.

"We have received a lot of interest in the extension from potential occupiers and we expect to be making some major announcements in the coming months on who will be joining the list of prestigious occupiers already at i54.

"We are determined to build on the success of what is already one of the UK’s premier advanced manufacturing business parks."

Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills, Councillor Philip White, said: “The i54 South Staffordshire western extension has been a significant project for the county council and our partners. It’s fantastic that it is now complete, with the first development set to get underway soon and others to follow in the coming months.

“I’d like to commend the project team for carrying on work safely over the last two years. It means we can start to see benefits to our local economy imminently as it continues its post-pandemic recovery.

“Our long-term economic growth strategy sets out how we plan to develop our key transport corridors, deliver major infrastructure projects and attract investors which support job creation. This helps to generate business rates which in turn supports the funding of public services.

“The completion of the western extension is further demonstration of the strength and success of our partnership with the City of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire councils.”

The partners have also agreed a further £500,000 to support and promote sustainable travel activities, and £50,000 has been granted to Pendeford Hall Nature Reserve to help continue and develop its education, health and wellbeing, and personal and social skills development outdoor activities for local communities.