5 things the EU has done for the West Midlands

Whether you’re sat firmly in the remain camp or desperate to leave the EU, there’s no denying that it has shaped the West Midlands. Of course, not every development in the region has been down to the European Union, but an impressive amount has. With the EU referendum just around the corner, here’s five things that the EU has done for our region.

Millennium point
The complex contains Birmingham Science Museum, Birmingham School of Acting and Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and The Built Environment as well as boasting a huge Atrium screen. The EU invested £25.6m into Millennium Point back in 2000 where it was the UK’s largest ERDF funded project at the time.

Innovation Birmingham
The EU invested £6 million into Innovation Birmingham. The campus is a hub for people with ideas, expertise and experience. Innovation Birmingham has brought a huge amount of digital and technology businesses jobs to the city. The campus creates a wide range of valuable opportunities, which help innovators and tech entrepreneurs to succeed.

Youth unemployment
Almost £35m was invested from the EU into local youth unemployment scheme The Youth Promise Plus in February. The project addresses the issues of working in Greater Birmingham and Solihull and tackles employment and skills support needed in the area. The scheme supports 16,610 young people, including those most disadvantaged and gives them access to training and jobs.

MG Rover task force
Remember back in 2005 when the collapse of MG Rover meant that over 6,000 local people lost their jobs at the company? Well, the EU put more than a third into a £176m pot to create the MG Rover task force which helped get the redundant workers back into employment and invested in their skills.

The NEC
It is hard to remember where we used to go for events and concerts now before The NEC came along. The National Exhibition Centre, which opened in 1976 and is sat next to the likes of Birmingham Airport and Resorts World, now occupies an impressive 20 halls and the Genting Arena. The EU handed over £30m to help towards the refurbishment of the centre.

Universities
Between 2007 and 2013, West Midlands based universities received £260 million from the EU which helped fund research into health, energy, climate change and transport and they still receive money each year. In particular, The University of Wolverhampton has received nearly £70m in EU cash over the last 16 years which helped towards the Wolverhampton Science Park and the city centre campus. In fact, £8m of EU cash helped the university create a start-up programme that has led to 620 firms launched across the West Midlands.