The investment totals £20 billion and showcases the prestige of the opportunities that are available for investment across the region. The opportunities have been identified in collaboration with local authorities across the combined authority as they reflect the ambition of local leaders to level up the cities and towns in the region.
Investors and developers will be offered the chance to help breathe new life into local communities whilst also delivering transformational growth. Not only will this make the region more prosperous, but public and private sector partnerships will also make the West Midlands better connected. The town and city centre schemes include:
- Coventry City Centre Cultural Gateway
- Creative Quarter Royal Leamington Spa
- Interchange Commercial District Wolverhampton
- Paradise Birmingham
- Rugby Town Centre
- Shrewsbury Riverside
- Solihull Town Centre including Eastgate
- Telford Town Centre Living Cluster
- Transformation Nuneaton
- Walsall Town Centre
- West Bromwich Town Centre
Image credit: Google
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
“More and more major national and indeed global players are recognising the investment opportunities on offer here in our region – including both L&G and Lovell.
“With a young, skilled, and diverse workforce, internationally renowned higher education institutions, and outstanding connectivity – set to be bolstered in the coming years by the arrival of HS2 – our economy is well placed to prosper in the months and years ahead.
“This Investment Prospectus comes on the back of last summer’s hugely successful Commonwealth Games as well as the new Deeper Devolution Deal this March where we secured £1.5 billion of new funding from the government – alongside a significant tranche of new powers covering housing and regeneration, transport and skills, giving us even more levers to deliver for local people and our partners in the private sector.”
One such example of a transformational project being implemented in the West Midlands is a new housing development that is being delivered alongside two of the WMCA’s strategic partners. The project will see 234 new energy efficient homes, with nearly half being classed as affordable through the combined authority’s unique definition. This definition of affordable housing is related to real-world income, rather than the prices of surrounding properties.
West Midlands Combined Authority portfolio holder for housing and land, as well as Leader of Walsall Council, Cllr Mike Bird, said:
“With a combined investment value of over £20 billion, this Investment Prospectus sets out the profile and prestige of opportunities which reflect our ongoing mission to further improve people’s skills and quality of life, support our world beating sectors to drive productivity and innovation and deliver our nationally leading brownfield regeneration programme at scale pace.
“The prospectus also underpins our drive to provide the affordable, high-quality homes of the future and the modern, low carbon workspaces that local people and businesses need to prosper.
“So, we want to hear from investors and developers who share our vision of a better connected, more prosperous, fairer, greener and healthier West Midlands.
“The WMCA, our local authorities and other partners stand ready and willing to work collaboratively with like-minded investors to bring forward these exciting projects and help drive our region’s success.”
