Plans approved for Jaguar Land Rover’s new engine plant
PLANS for Jaguar Land Rover’s new £355m engine plant in South Staffordshire have been approved by councillors.
The company plans to build the new factory on the i54 site, north of Wolverhampton, which has already been designated as part of the Black Country Enterprise Zone.
The new factory, which will manufacture JLR’s new generation low-emission engines, is set to create 750 jobs directly – a figure which is expected to more than double when taking into account new opportunities for the component supply chain.
The new engines are intended to give Indian-owned JLR greater control of its global expansion plans. Currently the supply of engines from Ford is insufficient to meet growth targets.
The i54 site has been twinned with the former IMI copper works in Darlaston, dubbed Phoenix 10, to complete the BCEZ. The Darlaston scheme is intended to act as a feeder site to i54, providing a base for many of the main plant’s suppliers.
The decision taken by South Staffordshire Council paves the way for development work to begin on a new slip road from Junction 2 of the M54 which will link the motorway directly with the new plant.
Staffordshire County Council and Wolverhampton City Council have both pledged around £20m to the road scheme.
Work on the factory site could now begin as early as January although no exact timetables have been released.
South Staffordshire Council, Staffordshire County Council and Wolverhampton City Council have taken on the development of the i54 site after much of the preliminary work was completed by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
i54 is already home to aerospace firms Moog and Eurofins and the strategy is for the site to become a major hub for the advanced manufacturing sector, creating thousands of skilled jobs.
Cllr Ben Adams, Staffordshire’s cabinet member for economic growth and enterprise, said: “It’s great news that development of the new JLR plant can now begin.
“We are looking forward to seeing construction work begin on site in the New Year and the plans being put together for the new motorway junction.
“JLR’s decision to locate in Staffordshire is already having a considerable impact; placing our county on top of a national job creation table for autumn and confirming Staffordshire as a great place for investment.”
