Combined authority approves £880m budget
Funding for infrastructure, land regeneration and job training schemes has been set out in this year’s £880m West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) budget.
Money is also allocated to transform even more derelict industrial sites for new homes and jobs.
The budget, which was approved by the WMCA Board on Friday (February 11), includes an Adult Education Budget (AEB) of more than £140m to help secure jobs in growing sectors such as construction, digital and the emerging green industries.
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “We had been the fastest growing region outside London before Covid struck, but there’s no escaping the fact that the pandemic has hit our local economy, and people’s pockets, hard.
“That’s why the most important part of this year’s budget is the lack of a Mayoral precept for the fifth year running, as we continue to do what we can to keep people’s bills low – especially at a time when the cost of living is a concern for many.
“At the heart of our budget is a focus on helping the West Midlands recover in a way that creates tens of thousands of new jobs, especially in the green industries of the future, and gives people the skills they need to fill those jobs. The budget also supports the on-going expansion and decarbonisation of our public transport network with new Metro and rail lines, pollution free buses and more cycle routes, helping us realise our #WM2041 ambition to become a net zero region within the next 20 years.
“But with a growing population we also need more homes and commercial premises, which is why we have allocated nearly £90m for housing and land projects including the regeneration of derelict brownfield sites, helping to save precious green belt fields from the bulldozer.
“All the investments set out in this budget will help create and protect jobs as we recover from the pandemic and support our ongoing fight against climate change.”
Key brownfield housing schemes include:
– 252 homes on the former Caparo steel works at Walsall
– The construction of further homes using cutting edge construction technology on derelict land at Icknield Port Loop in Edgbaston
– New homes as part of the £82m Portersfield redevelopment of Dudley town centre
– 71 new homes on the former Cookley Works steel factory in Brierley Hill
Nearly £66m in capital grants will be allocated to local authorities to help fund major infrastructure projects with significant investment in Coventry city centre including completion of the rail station, the UK Central development around the airport and NEC in Solihull and for the staging of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Around £148m of skills funding, including the AEB budget, will be used by the WMCA’s productivity and skills team, working with local authorities, to fund training courses that give people the opportunity to upskill and get back into work, with more training matched to those industries suffering skills shortages, including higher level skills.
Councillor Bob Sleigh, Deputy Mayor and WMCA portfolio holder for finance, said: “There is significant funding in this budget to help us recapture our pre-Covid success and build an economy that supports our environmental targets while focussing on innovation and new green technologies.
“But with the region’s population expected to rise by more than 500,000 people over the next 20 years we also need to put in place the building blocks we will need to meet continuing demand for new, quality homes, services and jobs. We believe this budget will help the region meet those future challenges.”
