The Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) has successfully completed its 20th flagship project since inception, unlocking an overall £124 million investment in regional economic growth.
From educational ventures such as the Virtual Reality and Robotics Development Centre in Solihull to a major programme of regeneration in East Staffordshire, GBSLEP funding totalling £38 million has proved vital in improving connectivity, upskilling the local workforce and unlocking new levels of investment and growth in the region.
First established in 2010 as a partnership of business, public sector and further and higher education leaders, GBSLEP’s mission is to create jobs, grow the economy and raise the quality of life for nearly two million residents across nine local authority boundaries.
As part of GBSLEP’s Local Growth Programme, investment for its first 20 completed projects has come from the Local Growth Fund, via the three Growth Deals agreed with Government.
Commenting on the milestone, Tim Pile, Chair of GBSLEP, said: “GBSLEP is committed to raising the prospects and economic future of every individual and business in Greater Birmingham and Solihull, and these projects demonstrate that we’re achieving this. It is hugely rewarding to see the public and private sectors working together to create thousands of jobs and make a real economic impact across the region – from Cannock to Redditch, East Staffordshire to Birmingham. These projects reflect a forward-thinking region with huge potential, which welcomes collaboration with other like-minded organisations keen to make a significant impact on our local economy.
“The diversity of the 20 completed projects and their focus on high-growth sectors illustrates our aim to carve a real legacy of sustained economic growth for generations to come. With many emerging projects and opportunities set to further stimulate economic prosperity across the region, such as HS2, we look to the future with great optimism.”
Sowing the seed for sustained economic success, the 20 GBSLEP-supported projects now in delivery span burgeoning sectors such as technology and engineering, infrastructure and education.
In line with the LEP’s focus on galvanising skills development in the city region, key projects include Solihull College and University’s revolutionary Virtual Reality and Robotics Centre – an innovative facility aiming to deliver a workforce at the forefront of the world’s rapidly evolving technological industries. The Centre welcomed its first cohort of students in September 2017.
Reflecting its commitment to collaboration, GBSLEP has worked closely with regional partners to deliver its Local Growth Programme. Highlights include a partnership with Worcestershire LEP to part-fund the newly-built North Worcestershire Centre of Engineering Excellence – a facility focused on delivering advanced manufacturing training, education and assessment, including the provision of practical apprenticeships. It is run by specialist training provider and registered educational charity, Midland Group Training Services.
LEP investments have also unlocked a collection of infrastructure developments across the wider Greater Birmingham region. The East Staffordshire Regeneration Programme, supported by £1.5 million of Local Growth Funding, has enabled transformative remediation works to be carried out across three brownfield sites in the East Staffordshire area, releasing £5 million of dormant capital investment in land assets. All three sites are now undergoing sales and planning processes, which will see the development of more than 10,000 sqm of office space, up to 250 new homes and 500 new jobs in key urban locations within East Staffordshire.
Patricia Ackroyd, Deputy Leader for Enterprise at East Staffordshire Borough Council, said: “There is no question that the funding support from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP has played a big part in helping to bring these three sites forward and support their release for private development. Without this programme of infrastructure works, which was made possible thanks to GBSLEP funding, the sites remained unviable for developers. Now, we are close to securing significant investment which will drive the continued growth of the economy in East Staffordshire.”
