04.08.20
£66m package for West Midlands economic recovery
£66m of Government funding has been secured for the West Midlands, with projects such as Very Light Rail developments set to benefit.
The money from the Government’s Getting Building Fund is aimed at projects which can get underway promptly and be completed within 18 months.
Thereby creating jobs and driving investment to aid the economic recovery following the Covid-19 lockdown.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) working with the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LED, the Black Country LEP and the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP delivered the region’s prioritised list of projects to Government.
The list was today confirmed (4 Aug) by Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick.
In total, the projects will create around 2,110 jobs, as well as support 1,419 construction jobs during development.
The rail projects that are to receive funding are as follows:
- £15.1m towards the redevelopment of University Station in Edgbaston
- £12.4m for the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley where new modes of transport which are both green and cheaper and quicker to deliver than traditional tram or rail are being developed.
- Coventry’s Very Light Rail project to receive £1.8m
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “At a difficult time for the West Midlands’ economy brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it is great to see the Government putting further cash on the table to help aid our recovery.
“This £66m from the Getting Building Fund will go towards exciting, shovel-ready, projects across the region that will make an immediate difference by helping to create and secure local jobs for local people.
“As well as an immediate investment to re-boot our local economy, the money secured through the fund is also an investment in our future, to secure the West Midlands’ place as a global leader in green and clean technology, life sciences, transport of the future, and construction.
“This announcement is just one part of our much bigger plans to reset, recharge and rebuild the West Midlands economy by investing in the future and retaining current jobs and creating new ones.”