Extension to business park to create 1,000 jobs
Work on a major extension to i54 business park has completed, with new occupiers ready to be announced.
A further 60 acres of land has been added to the west side of i54 South Staffordshire, which is on the county border with Wolverhampton. 850,000 sq ft of fully-serviced factory platforms are ready for new occupiers to build units on.
The scheme, delivered by the City of Wolverhampton Council, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council will create more than 1,000 new jobs.
The current i54 business park is occupied by businesses including Jaguar Land Rover, Moog, ISP and Eurofins.
Following investment of more than £1bn, the park has a workforce of around 2,700 people, with half of the jobs held by people living within a 10-mile radius.
City of Wolverhampton Council Leader, Councillor Ian Brookfield, said: “i54 plays a major part in the lives of thousands of people in Wolverhampton and south Staffordshire and our joint investment at i54 has secured hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and has brought thousands of jobs to the area.
“We have received a lot of interest in the extension from potential occupiers and we expect to be making some major announcements in the coming months on who will be joining the list of prestigious occupiers already at i54”.
In addition to the three councils’ investment, there has been a financial commitment from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
The major works included the construction of a one-kilometre road linking the main i54 site to the new extension, new footpaths and cycleways, structured landscaping to create the manufacturing bases, diverting and improving the public bridleway, drainage works, the planting of 10,000 trees, and the development of a further access road to serve future occupiers.
Staffordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, Councillor Philip White, said: “The i54 South Staffordshire western extension has been a significant project for the county council and our partners. It’s fantastic that it is now complete with the first development set to get underway soon and others to follow in the coming months.
“Our long-term economic growth strategy sets out how we plan to develop our key transport corridors, deliver major infrastructure projects and attract investors which support job creation. This helps to generate business rates which in turn supports the funding of public services”.
South Staffordshire Council Leader, Councillor Roger Lees, said: “South Staffordshire Council were also keen for the environmental impacts of the development to be minimised and I’m delighted that around 10,000 new trees have been planted across the site alongside other sensitive landscaping measures, which included a diversion and improvements to the public bridleway through the site and which has seen an upturn in local usage since the improvements were made.”
The partners have also agreed a further £500,000 to support and promote sustainable travel activities, and £50,000 has been granted to Pendeford Hall Nature Reserve to help continue and develop its education, health and wellbeing, and personal and social skills development outdoor activities for local communities.
