Black Country JCS: Enterprise Zone set to spearhead massive growth

THE decision by Jaguar Land Rover to locate its new engine plant on the site of the Black Country Enterprise Zone is set to transform the economic growth of the area over the next decade.

The massive new plant, which will be capable of producing around 500,000 engines a year, will create between 750 and 900 jobs directly; a figure which could double when factoring in new opportunities within the automotive supply chain.

Securing the plant is an enormous feather in the Black Country’s cap, particularly as it beat 100 other sites around the globe to land the project.

The decision is also vindication of the efforts of the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership – and its predecessor Advantage West Midlands – to create the right conditions for growth.

In addition to the i54 site, on which the JLR engine plant will be based, the Enterprise Zone also includes Phoenix 10, the former James Bridge Copper Works in Darlaston, which benefits from good motorway access and which will act as a feeder site to the main development, hopefully attracting new supply chain companies eager to take advantage of new opportunities.

• To read more about the development opportunities offered by the Black Country Joint Core Strategy, download the free supplement by clicking here. A free information event, Black Country – Open for Business, is also being held on September 29 in West Bromwich. Click through to learn more and register.

Stewart Towe, chairman of the LEP, said the body had been keen to lay out the whole strategy for the Enterprise Zone when its delegates travelled to Whitehall to put forward the area’s case for EZ status.

“One of the things that persuaded the Government that we needed more than one site was the issue of supply chain management,” he said.

“We planned to put a key tenant on the i54 site, which would anchor the zone and enable the supply chain to feed into it.

“Our key task now will be to support the supply chain management into that tenant.”

Enterprise Zones will benefit from:

•    A 100% business rate discount worth up to £275,000 over a five year period, for businesses that move into an Enterprise Zone during the course of this Parliament;

•    All business rates growth within the zone for a period of at least 25 years will be retained and shared by the local authorities in the LEP area to support their economic priorities;

•    Government and local authority help to develop radically simplified planning approaches in the zone; and

•    Government support to ensure superfast broadband is rolled out in the zone. This will be achieved through guaranteeing the most supportive environment and, if necessary, public funding.

The Black Country zone will also benefit from enhanced capital allowances for investment in new plant and machinery.

The LEP is planning on making the EZ an advanced manufacturing and technology hub that will attract not just automotive firms, but aerospace and other cutting edge technologies that can support highly-skilled, added value manufacturing jobs. Aerospace firms Moog and Eurofins have already committed to the site.

“We already have a number of clusters in place and the Black Country’s traditional strength is to deliver the conditions for a thriving supply chain network,” said Mr Towe, left.

He said changes to the planning regime with the four Black Country local authorities working together, plus the additional Enterprise Zone benefits would help create a coordinated approach to EZ management.

“The local authorities have agreed that they will put together one team to manage EZ planning activity and people are being designated within each team,” said Mr Towe.

“This is vitally important as we all have to pull in the same direction. There has to be a core strategic approach to the application of EZs.

“Our goal is to see businesses develop by removing the barriers to growth, easing the planning process will be key to this.”