City unveils blueprint for £1.5bn of investment and new jobs

A NEW blueprint set to generate £1.5bn of investment and create 50,000 new jobs in Birmingham has been unveiled by the city council and Birmingham’s inward investment body.

The Economic Zones initiative will see the creation of six designated areas around the city each with a focus on high-growth sectors.

These will include: business & professional services; creative & digital media; advanced manufacturing; life sciences; food & drink; and IT, electronics & communications (ITEC).

The zones, devised following research from Birmingham City Council and collaboration with inward investment programme Business Birmingham, will together create £1.8m sqm of new floorspace.

The zones are:

• Advanced Manufacturing Hub at the Aston Regional Investment Site
• Tyseley Environmental Enterprise District
• Life Sciences Campus at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and University of Birmingham in Edgbaston
• The Food Hub at the former IMI site in north Birmingham
• City Centre Enterprise Zone
• Longbridge ITEC Park

The zones initiative was launched at city law firm Wragge & Co and the event brought together leading business figures from across the city to highlight how the zones will support one of the UK’s most ambitious inward investment strategies.

The event also unveiled further details of the Advanced Manufacturing Hub, which is the first zone to be rolled out to investors. It is available for immediate occupation and has been chosen because of its potential to tap into a high-growth sector which is worth nearly £12bn to the local economy.

The hub is expected to attract companies in the automotive and aerospace sectors and builds on the recent investments announced for the area by Jaguar Land Rover and BMW. The development, near Salford Lake, will create a high quality business park for new companies to move into the city, or for the expansion of the city’s existing businesses.

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The launch of Birmingham’s Economic Zones Prospectus demonstrates the city’s ambitious vision to become the UK’s enterprise capital. Unparalleled collaboration between partners across the city, including Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP, Birmingham City Council, Business Birmingham and the city’s property community, has created a pioneering blueprint for Birmingham’s future economic landscape.    

“There is an increasing need to make Birmingham’s economic development globally relevant, creating a sustainable economy that will attract international investment, deliver jobs for our residents and enable both existing and new businesses to thrive here. Our economic zones – led by the city’s new Advanced Manufacturing Hub – form a proposition that international investors cannot ignore, and will become the cornerstone of our economic success for decades to come.”

The two bodies want each zone to create the ideal conditions under which its designated sector can flourish. Each will be supported by simplified planning for developers; gap funding for new developments and existing business space; access to loans, equity finance and business development programmes for new occupiers; training and recruitment packages; and the services of Business Birmingham.

As the first economic zone to be marketed to investors, the Advanced Manufacturing Hub has plots available for immediate development.

Located at the 20 hectare Aston Regional Investment Site, it will support the city’s growing automotive and aerospace supply chains as well as other advanced manufacturers. It will be developed in three phases over a 10-15 year period, with the first phase of 10.5 hectares able to accommodate individual, bespoke buildings up to 11,000 sqm.

A Local Development Order is being prepared to simplify the planning system for developing new facilities at the site, which has the potential to accommodate up to 3,000 jobs. It is a joint initiative between Birmingham City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency, with Savills the appointed agent to the development. In addition, £20m has been committed to infrastructure improvements and land acquisitions in the area.