West Midlands economy to be supercharged by new Investment Zone boost
Wednesday’s spring budget looks set to deliver a big boost of funding to the West Midlands to supercharge the region’s economic growth.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) area is expected to be announced as one of the shortlisted locations for the new Investment Zones, a government initiative developed to drive innovation and create highly skilled jobs.
The zones will each be backed with £80m over five years including generous tax incentives.
The aim of the initiative is to bring investment and jobs into areas which have traditionally underperformed economically but have the potential to be areas of high growth and support the levelling up agenda.
Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, said: “Our Plan for Growth is central to how we drive forward our regional economic recovery as we bounce back from the temporary setback inflicted by the pandemic. The right mix of devolved powers, investment incentives and transport infrastructure will help turn that plan into action.
“That’s why this Investment Zones announcement is very welcome news – supporting our efforts to attract new businesses, create high quality jobs and supercharge our economy. “Investment Zones will make a valuable contribution towards enhancing prosperity for residents right across our region and I look forward to working with local leaders to decide how we best take advantage of this exciting opportunity.”
The Investment Zones have been designed to drive growth in five key sectors: life sciences, creative industries, digital technology advanced manufacturing and green industries. The government has set the end of the year as the target for announcing locations.
