Tens of thousands of jobs set to be created as Investment Zone plan is signed off

Members of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board agreed on the delivery of the West Midlands Investment Zone when it met in Wolverhampton on Friday.

The 25-year zone is focussed on driving growth in advanced manufacturing, green industries, health tech and underlying digital technologies and aims to bring in £5.5 billion investment and create more than 30,000 new jobs.

It will benefit from tax incentives, direct funding and business rate retention within the zone, which could see up to £1.5bn reinvested into the West Midlands instead of going into Government coffers.

The plan for the first year of the Zone will be submitted to the Department for Housing, Levelling-up and Communities for approval before funding is released for the project.

A WMCA spokesperson said while the Zone covers the entire region it will be powered through three specific sites with bespoke funding and incentives for businesses who set up there.

These are the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter – running northeast from the Birmingham City and Aston universities through Duddeston and Nechells to Aston.

The Quarter will offer tax incentives, business rates retention and receive £9m investment for public realm works and active travel infrastructure to help attract investment.

The Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor will create new green industries and skills through a partnership between the city council and university with £7m investment for land remediation and key infrastructure.

The Coventry-Warwick Gigapark at Coventry Airport. Anchored by a new battery gigafactory and associated businesses and technologies, the site will get tax incentives, business rates retention and £23m investment for land remediation, infrastructure and connection to power grids.

Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton said they needed to drive the pace and delivery of the scheme with ‘some force’.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council leader added: “I’d really like us to start to unlock the benefits.

“Any delays that come forward are holding people from opportunities, especially the youth and we’ve discussed many times the problems of youth unemployment.”

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said: “The Investment Zone initiative is a ground-breaking and pivotal project to securing our future economic growth and delivering the jobs this region needs.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for our region so pleased the leaders of the key local authorities have been able to find a way to work through this and to deliver what will be a great opportunity for this region.

“Potentially transforming people’s lives but also allows us to have a great bridge with the next Government to discuss economic growth in this region and how we will contribute to the economic recovery that the country needs.”