West Midlands unveils £10bn investment programme at MIPIM
The Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street has launched £10bn worth of housing, regeneration, commercial and infrastructure development opportunities to international investors at MIPIM.
Leading the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) delegation in Cannes, Street unveiled 24 development opportunities from across the region that are seeking investment.
The opportunities, presented on behalf of the region as part of a new West Midlands Investment Prospectus, include:
· £2bn+ UK Central Hub and HS2 Interchange – a 140-hectare development creating a sustainable urban quarter, including thousands of homes, commercial and leisure facilities and unrivalled connectivity around the West Midlands’ second HS2 station
· £350m+ City Centre South Coventry – an urban mixed-use development with significant residential, retail and leisure components
· £800m DY5 Dudley’s Business and Innovation Enterprise Zone – new opportunities in mixed-use industrial, residential and office developments
· £700m Friargate Coventry – office led mixed-use and multi-phase development in central Coventry
· £850m Greater Icknield and Smethwick – a significant residential-led mixed-use development at the heart of the West Midlands region
· £700m Paradise Birmingham – a high quality mixed-use development that introduces new public realm to a historic city centre setting
· £250m The Brewers Yard Wolverhampton – key city centre mixed-use use regeneration site
adjacent to Wolverhampton Railway Station and Wolverhampton University
· £300m Walsall Town Centre – town centre mixed-use development including new office, retail, leisure, residential and mixed-use town centre projects
· £1bn+ Birmingham Curzon – mixed-use development centred on a new High-Speed 2 station in central Birmingham
Street said: “We are building the future and there’s never been a better time to invest in the West Midlands. We have a diverse, resilient economy, one of the youngest and fastest growing populations in Europe, great quality of life, unrivalled connectivity, brilliant centres of learning, and world-class businesses, large and small.
“This provides us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive inclusive growth across the region that benefits all our communities.
“This £10bn investment prospectus demonstrates the strength of our offer and the boldness of our vision. We are the most promising place to invest in the UK – and, like all good businesses, we have a plan and are delivering it.”
Deborah Cadman, WMCA chief executive, said: “The investor-friendly West Midlands Combined Authority is focused on providing our region with strategic leadership and local knowledge needed to succeed.
“Supported by the UK Government’s ambitious Industrial Strategy, we are building tomorrow’s homes, creating vibrant and thriving mixed-use places, investing in world-class infrastructure, and transforming the West Midlands into the UK’s growth capital.
“The West Midlands has all the elements in place to provide investor certainty and strong long-term growth. The region is open for business and the time to invest is now.”
The WMCA, which brings together 18 local authorities and four Local Enterprise Partnerships with the aim of driving inclusive growth across the region, provides strategic leadership and an entry point for investors in the West Midlands.
It says with the region’s population forecast to grow by half a million over the next 20 years – equivalent to a city the size of Bristol or Liverpool – and wage levels expected to rise faster than anywhere else in the UK, it is delivering an ambitious growth strategy, focused on creating jobs, skills progression and a pipeline of developments that will benefit all the region’s communities.
The WMCA’s Strategic Economic Plan and Local Industrial Strategy, which is focused on smart mobility, data-driven health and life sciences, modern services, and creative content, techniques and technologies, is backed by an £8bn 30-year investment programme and a significant annual investment in providing job-specific training.
