Out of Town: i54
OUT of Town hits the M54 this month with a look around one of the region’s biggest developments, the i54 scheme in South Staffordshire. The 226-acre site is just a few minutes drive from Junction 2 and is finally seeing the fruits of labour after years of planning.
Last month aerospace systems manufacturer Moog started working on the new home for its Wolverhampton-based staff at i54, in Pendeford. Although the move from its current home will be a very short one once the project is completed in 18 months, the decision to choose i54 and stay here was a significant one.
Not only is Moog the first company to, literally, lay concrete plans on the business estate, it also signalled a commitment to Wolverhampton and the West Midlands as a whole.
Because of i54’s location right next to the M54, staff at Moog and all other future occupiers can realistically commute in from much greater distances than if they were in a city centre.
The company was reported to have looked at a vast array of alternative locations for its new 250,000 sq ft R&D facilities, both at home and abroad, before choosing the park.
Steve Holland, head of asset management at i54 owner Advantage West Midlands, said: “They looked at Telford, the Phillipines, Europe, but ultimately it was about them wanting to keep the skills of their workers in the region.
“And they are exactly the type of occupiers we have been targeting. Because of our location, we would suit a logistics firm and it would be great if we could secure one.
“But this was set up with the aim of attracting manufacturing, aerospace and high tech firms to the region and boosting the economy in these sectors.”
The estate is split into eight large plots, six of which are still fully available, but these can be further sub-divided as has happened with Eurofins taking around 40% of Plot G.
The concept of i54 was drawn up by AWM, the out-going regional development agency, in 2002 but it took around another five years before the project was ready to put in for outline planning permission.
Inevitably, with schemes of this scale, it initially met plenty of opposition from local residents, much of which centred on the planned redevelopment of the M54 Junction 2 to the site’s north.
Access to the estate is currently via the single carriageway Wobaston Road off the A449 – an already busy commuter route into and out of Wolverhampton – and its vastness has to be seen to be believed.
Once the first 50,000 sq m of the park next to the entrance is occupied by Moog and later Eurofins, the rescaling of Junction 2 will begin.
The aerospace manufacturer, which is also moving from an existing base in Wolverhampton, is currently seeking a contractor with a view to starting building work later this year.
Following last month’s Budget, the rumour mill kicked into overdrive about where exactly in Birmingham/Solihull and the Black Country the region’s two new Enterprise Zones would be located.
With i54 in South Staffordshire, it might be considered on the fringes of the Black Country to be named in a zone.
If one was located close to i54 with its tax and business rates incentives and low rents, could the Enterprise Zone be seen as genuine competitor? AWM has erred on the side of caution and maintained that it would inappropriate to speculate too much about the new zones.
Mr Holland remained upbeat though, saying: “Each occupier wants different things and it is not always about costs. So if we are close to an Enterprise Zone but not in one, so be it.
“It would be great but it’s the not the be all and end all to be in one.”
Pic: Artist’s impression of Moog’s new R&D facility on i54
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