Mayor seeks new ways to fund West Midlands investment
A ground-breaking commission aimed at securing new sources of investment in the region’s economic revival was due to be considered by the West Midlands Combined Authority today.
Programmes for improving public transport, building new homes and transforming skills are underpinned by an £8 billion devolution deal, but bosses are looking to bring in additional investment.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street wants to fill the breach with the Funding for Growth Programme, which brings together heavyweights from business, government and the universities to design new ways to bring in funding.
Members of the new commission include Isabel Dedring, global transport leader at Arup and former Deputy London Mayor for Transport, and Tony Travers, who previously chaired the London Finance Commission.
It also includes local authorities on the WMCA.
Mr Street said the WMCA needed to go beyond its existing plans to secure more funding. "This is about us becoming more self-sustaining and thinking originally about how we can accelerate our economic growth," he added.
"In the longer term, we need to stand on our own two feet and begin to control our own destiny, making devolution of power and funding to the West Midlands a reality.
"That’s what Funding for Growth is all about – building on what funding we already have, and finding creative ways of generating our own money."
The commission hopes to have proposals ready to discuss with the Government later this year.
