Greater Birmingham LEP reveals £12m Growing Places projects
MORE than £12m has been designated to kick start eight stalled regeneration projects in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership area.
The money has been allocated by the LEP’s board as part of its settlement from the Government’s Growing Places fund.
The eight projects, in Aston, Cannock Chase, Edgbaston, Erdington, Kidderminster, Solihull and Uttoxeter, had all bid for a share of the funding and were ultimately successful because of the potential they offered for job creation.
Once complete, the eight schemes could help generate almost 7,200 jobs.
The £12.075m allocated through the fund will also help to leverage more than £85m of private sector investment and will result in the development of new homes, hotels, high quality office space and a potential new business park.
The approved projects, subject to conditions and due diligence, are:
• East Aston Regional Investment Site
• Dove Way (Uttoxeter)
• Gallan Park (Cannock)
• Hoobrook Link Road (Kidderminster)
• Icknield Port Loop (Edgbaston)
• Lyndhurst Estate (Erdington)
• Mill Green (Cannock)
• North Arran Way (Solihull)
Paul Heaven, GBSLEP board member and founder of Blue Sky Corporate Finance, said: “From receiving the green light on the Growing Places Fund only a few months ago, we have been able to approve eight projects that are going to deliver major benefits to people living in the LEP area.
“There are some high-profile locations in the first tranche, including the British Sugar site (Kidderminster), a key employment site on East Aston RIS, a village centre redevelopment in Solihull and a major employment land opportunity in Cannock.”
All the applicants had to go through a two-stage process culminating in the submission of a detailed business case.
Each project was appraised with bids being presented to the LEP Investment Panel prior to securing board approval.
More than £8m of the LEP’s GP allocation remains unspent and the second phase of applications will take place later this year.
“The additional Growing Places funding will give us the opportunity to take the shackles off even more projects and help deliver crucial infrastructure improvements, such as building access roads, demolition of derelict buildings, installing essential services and the remediation of land.
“It’s a perfect example of how the LEP can be an ‘enabler’ in driving economic growth,” added Mr Heaven.
The first eight Growing Places projects are listed below. Each is subject to conditions and due diligence.
Project: East Aston Regional Investment Site (RIS)
Background: The RIS is intended to create a new gateway for Birmingham with a vibrant, high quality employment development capable of attracting national and international investment.
Local Authority: Birmingham City Council
Growing Places Funding: £2m
What will it do? Enable the construction of a new access to the site and unlock the full potential of phase 1 (10 hectares) of the overall 20 hectare RIS project.
Benefits: Phase 1 will provide brownfield land available for employment development including uses such as offices, advanced manufacturing and research and development. This will leverage £80m private sector investment and create 1,500 long term, sustainable jobs.
Project: Dove Way, Uttoxeter
Background: A new road layout and access is needed to open up a strategic brownfield employment site on land to the east of the Dove Way Bypass in Uttoxeter. It will also provide access to an adjacent residential site.
Local Authority: East Staffordshire Borough Council
Growing Places Funding: £750,000
What will it do? Provide a new roundabout and access road to a council-owned employment site.
Benefits: By opening up the site, it will create up to 540 jobs, 56 homes and 17,428m2 commercial floor space.
Project: Gallan Park, Cannock
Background: Gallan Park is a mixed-use development of which Phase 1 has been completed.
Local authority: Cannock Chase Council
Growing Places Funding: £750,000 (50% of the total £1.5m project cost, the other 50% being sought from the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP)
What will it do: Funding will deliver Phase 2 of the project, which includes a 60-bed Travelodge, 9,000 sq ft of retail space and the opening up of a further seven acres of land for redevelopment.
Benefits: £5m of private sector investment will be leveraged as part of the commitment, including the creation of 100 jobs. Longer-term, it will unlock Phases 3 and 4.
Project: Hoobrook Link Road, Kidderminster
Background: This represents 24 hectares of key development land for new homes and businesses on the former British Sugar site.
Local Authority: Wyre Forest District Council
Growing Places Funding: £1.25m (50% of total £2.5m bid, the other 50% supported through Worcester Local Enterprise Partnership).
What will it do? The development of the Hoobrook Link Road will help redevelopment for employment purposes of the former British Sugar site and the wider Stourport Road Employment Corridor, which will deliver significant socio-economic benefits to Wyre Forest district.
Benefits: The overall project will deliver 250 new homes, 196,000 sq ft commercial floor space and the creation of 434 jobs.
Project: Icknield Port Loop, Birmingham
Background: A high profile Birmingham regeneration scheme that faltered as the economy collapsed.
Local Authority: Birmingham City Council
Growing Places Funding: £500,000
What will it do? The work involves the demolition of Ladywood Arts and Leisure Centre, preparation of the site and the redirection of essential services for its redevelopment as a mixed-use scheme.
Benefits: Immediate results will be the construction of 225 houses, a new hotel and retail units with the creation of 200 jobs.
Once completed, the regeneration project will deliver 1,000 new mixed tenure homes, 800 new jobs, over £15m of new infrastructure and leisure facilities and business units. The Gross Development Value of the scheme is estimated to be £157m.
Project: Lyndhurst Estate, Birmingham
Background: The scheme involves the regeneration of the Lyndhurst Estate with upgrades to the retained housing stock and the clearance of development land.
Local Authority: Birmingham City Council
Growing Places Funding: £1m
What will it do? The money will contribute to the remediation of site conditions in the early phase of redevelopment, including demolition of a former school. It will also help provide for a relocated public open space and park.
Benefits: Overall, it will deliver 316 new homes (a mix of open market, homes for sale and affordable housing), £12.4m in leveraged private investment, 3.5 hectares of public open space, a new park and play facilities and support hundreds of construction jobs. Gross Development Value exceeds £33m.
Project: Mill Green, Cannock
Background: This is a stalled employment site that requires funding to unlock its development potential.
Local Authority: Cannock Chase Council
Growing Places Funding: £1.78m (50% of total project £3.56m cost, the other 50% being sought from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP)
What will it do? The funding will complete extensive infrastructure and servicing works to unlock a high quality employment site.
Benefits: Initially, it will deliver 18.8 acres of serviced development land and create 70 construction jobs. The wider project will deliver a 19,500 sq m business park, plus a hotel, restaurant and a nursery.
The whole scheme will generate around 1,200 full time jobs and 650 construction jobs, and is expected to leverage nearly £34m of private investment.
Project: North Arran Way, Solihull
Background: A retail and office scheme that is part of a wider village centre redevelopment project providing infrastructure, public realm, health and education facilities.
Local Authority: Solihull MBC
Growing Places Funding: £4.045m
What will it do? It will help provide a new two-storey development of ground floor retail units and office space to accommodate 150 staff. It will also be used for community and extended purposes.
It will involve renewing the use of 1.2 hectares of brownfield land, ensure six traders are housed in new premises and two businesses are brought to the area.
Benefits: Enhanced employment opportunities for local people and third sector access to facilities.
The project is part of the overall Village Centre Scheme, which will result in 200 jobs created/safeguarded, 2.1 hectares of brownfield renewal, improved transport links and the centralisation of a previously fragmented village.
