The Chamberlain News

£10Bn prospectus for UK’s new ‘growth capital’

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street is to unveil a “landmark” Investment Prospectus showcasing up to £10 billion of “transformational schemes” to “compete on the global stage and further accelerate the region’s economic and cultural renaissance”.

Yes, it’s MIPIM week folks. Standby for lots of property stories, writes Kevin Johnson.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) says the world’s property market is to be handed billions of pounds of opportunities to stake a claim in the UK’s new “growth capital” and most “investable region”.

 will showcase 20 schemes that will “breathe new life” into local communities and continue the region’s march to be at the “cutting edge of new world industries.”

The new Investment Prospectus for the West Midlands has been launched by Mayor at . Read about it and the £10bn in schemes at

— West Midlands CA (@WestMids_CA)

With the West Midlands already topping the UK regional table for foreign investment and home-grown business start-ups, the Prospectus will provide investors with a clear road map for joining the hundreds of companies relocating to the nation’s new growth capital.

The Mayor said:

These are exciting times for the West Midlands. Growth is strong and optimism is high.

We have a drum beat of momentum behind us both economically and culturally.

Birmingham will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Coventry is set to shine as the UK City of Culture in 2021, offering opportunities for investors to help build lasting legacies.

Our industrial heritage is second to none but we are also home to the industries of tomorrow and are busy creating a new industrial revolution in the very place where it all began.

So now is the time to invest in the UK’s new growth capital and its most liveable, investable and competitive region.

A number of the sites in the Prospectus build on the unprecedented investment being put into the region’s infrastructure, especially transport.

The West Midlands will present its pro-growth policy and collective leadership as sites are announced throughout the week building to the formal launch of the Investment Prospectus by the Mayor on Wednesday afternoon at the Midlands UK pavilion.

The West Midlands Growth Company (formerly Marketing Birmingham) launched its Twitter feed today. The Growth Company says its primary purpose is to attract investment, jobs, visitors and business to the West Midlands.

Welcome to the official twitter for the West Midlands Growth Company. Our primary purpose is to attract investment, jobs, visitors and business to the West Midlands.

— West Midlands Growth Company (@WMGrowth)

The Mayor said the Prospectus showed how the West Midlands had come together to speak with one voice in delivering its message to the world – that the region is the place to invest, establish a business, study and live.

We are a region of growth and innovation and we have all the fundamentals in place for successful investment along with the determination and talent to deliver.

That’s why the UK government is backing us to deliver, our local authorities are backing us to deliver and the private sector is backing us to deliver.

This Prospectus will show how we are creating fresh opportunities in the former industrial communities of the West Midlands, turning brownfield sites into new homes, schools, offices and factories.

We want this growth to benefit everyone and for his Prospectus to provide the things that really matter to people like good homes, jobs and access to skills and learning.

We are inviting the world this week to come and join us in making that happen.

The Mayor said the sheer range and diversity of the 20 sites also meant there would be something for everyone.

It’s almost time for the West Midlands to show how it is booming at . See talk about the messages from the region this week.

— West Midlands CA (@WestMids_CA)

At Friday’s WMCA Board meeting, £90m of funding was approved for two major schemes in Coventry as well as £21m for the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village in Birmingham. The WMCA also recently approved investment in the Wolverhampton Rail Station Interchange as well as marking £250M for the Metro extension to Brierley Hill.

Among those featured in the Prospectus will be:

• UK Central Hub and HS2 Interchange – a landmark project in Solihull around a unique concentration of business and infrastructure assets
• Birmingham Paradise – An opportunity to invest in a commercial, retail, leisure and hotel development in the heart of the city centre
• Friargate Coventry – A new development in the city centre next to the mainline rail station delivering prime  office space, hotels, homes, shops, restaurants and public space
• Interchange Commerical District and Canalside Living Quarter – A scheme offering investment opportunities for residential, leisure and commercial developments in Wolverhampton
• i54 Western Extension – An extension of the existing business park by up to 100 acres to help continue the expansion of the growing cluster of advanced manufacturing businesses including Jaguar Land Rover and Moog Aerospace.