£35m proposed for Coventry and Warwick Gigapark investment zone
Coventry City Council is set to discuss £35m of funding for the Coventry and Warwick Gigapark investment zone, part of advanced manufacturing zones across Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the three new West Midlands investment zones in his Autumn budget, which are expected to leverage £2bn in private investment and create 30,000 jobs by 2034.
The Coventry-Warwick Gigapark zone will be anchored by the West Midlands Gigafactory, alongside businesses to support this. It is one part of four sites within the zone and will become the UK’s Centre of Electrification.
If funding is approved by the council an initial £23m would deliver highways and infrastructure works to accelerate the development of the site and prepare it for occupation by a battery manufacturer and the associated supply chain.
The development is anticipated to attract up to £2.5bn of inward investment and create up to 6,000 highly skilled jobs and thousands more in the wider supply chain in Coventry and the surrounding region.
Other West Midlands advanced manufacturing investment zones are:
- The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter – £70m anchor investment has been made by Bruntwood SciTech and Woodbourne Group
- Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor – creating new green industries and skills through a partnership between the city council and university
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change, said: “Coventry is the historical home of the automotive industry in the UK, where much of the cutting-edge technology that defined the global car industry last century was created here in our city. Now, as we stand at the dawn of a new electric age, we fully intend for Coventry to be very front of the green industrial revolution.
“The West Midlands Gigafactory site is the only site in the UK that sits within an investment zone; has planning permission for a large-scale battery manufacturing facility and has confirmed customers interested from a number of global battery manufacturers.
“This project has the potential to attract more investors to our city that will bring jobs and prosperity to our residents.”
