Business leaders applaud £124m funding boost to West Midlands
BUSINESS leaders in the West Midlands have welcomed the Government’s £124m funding injection for the region.
The money was released through stage three of the Regional Growth Fund and is set to provide a major boost to the manufacturing industry and the automotive sector in particular.
Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership was especially supportive after nine projects put forward by local firms were successful in securing funding, while the LEP itself was awarded £24.4m to help companies expand by buying assets through grants, and to boost infrastructure projects.
Sir Peter Rigby, chair of the LEP, who also runs the largest privately-owned IT company in Europe, said: “This is great news for the West Midlands and for Coventry and Warwickshire.
“The West Midlands has won more funding than any other region in the country while Coventry and Warwickshire has more successful projects than any other area in the West Midlands.
“I think the success of our companies underlines the strength of our industrial landscape.”
John Mutton, leader of Coventry City Council and vice-chair of the LEP, said: “We now have the resources we need to really help our local area develop as a competitive, innovative, low carbon economy.”
Paul Heaven, Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP board director with responsibility for access to finance, said: “The announcement that the GBS LEP has been awarded £20m towards the Green Bridge finance initiative is excellent news for supply chain SMEs and a further indication in Government’s faith in us to deliver such schemes.
“Once again we have demonstrated effective cross-LEP working by joining forces with five other West Midlands LEPs to secure the funding for this initiative.”
The Black Country LEP was equally enthusiastic. It has directly received £28m and it said with the funding released to various local companies, together with private sector support, more than £130m was destined for the area creating or safeguarding 2,200 jobs.
Successful firms in the area included Tipton-based manufacturer Cab-Automotive and Wolverhampton based BRM Packaging.
Stewart Towe, left, chair of the Black Country LEP, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have helped attract hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment into the Black Country. The LEP has worked closely with a number of private sector bids to maximise their chance of success and compiled an excellent programme bid to help more businesses benefit from the funding.”
Councillor Darren Cooper, LEP board member and leader of Sandwell Council, said: “Around 90 businesses from across the Black Country will be directly benefitting from these successful bids which is clearly excellent news.”
Rachel Eade, Supply Chain Specialist for the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), added: “Accessing investment to facilitate growth, new products and projects is vital to the success of the local economy and in the creation of new jobs. It also highlights the close working relationships we are developing with the LEPs to ensure our industry knowledge is maximised to leverage more funding.”
Paul Burman, Director of Marketing Communications at Dana Holding Corporation in Birmingham, which was one of the main beneficiaries of the growth funding, said: “Dana’s successful bid for £1.03m, supported by Business Birmingham, demonstrates the region’s strengths in the automotive industry and Dana’s commitment to growth at its Witton facility.
“The funding will enable Dana to further invest in plant, machinery and new technology, enabling the company to take advantage of demand in the European automotive market and further develop engineering capability. We will also use the investment to increase the skills of our staff, by working closely with local colleges to provide training such as apprenticeships.”
Richard Halstead, left, Midlands region director at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said the funding announcement would stimulate investment and create jobs in manufacturing.
“The success of LEPs in accessing funding suggests that some of them are now starting to engage better with business and, it should provide them with the resources that many have been lacking to begin driving local growth,” he said.
“But, the government must not rest on its laurels, and the delays experienced in previous rounds must be avoided with funding flowing out to business much faster. The longer-term future of the fund must also be clarified, especially if government sees this as a key element of its growth strategy.
“In addition, while the RGF plays a useful role, it will only have its maximum impact in helping to create a stronger better balanced economy if it is part of an overall government plan to deliver this.”
