A detailed plan for the delivery of a West Midlands Investment Zone which it is claimed could attract at least £5.5 billion of investment and more than 30,000 new jobs has been given the green light.
The West Midlands Combined Authority's board has agreed a delivery plan that will combine a mix of tax incentives, direct funding and business rate retention for the zone.
The plan is focussed on driving growth in advanced manufacturing, green industries, health-tech and digital.
The investment zone will cover the whole region but will be focused on three specific sites, with bespoke funding and incentives for businesses which choose to set up there.
They are the redevelopment of Coventry Airport where planning consent is in place for a huge £2.5 billion electric vehicle battery factory which it is hoped will also attract associated businesses and technologies.
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The site, collectively now known as Greenpower Park, will get tax incentives, business rates retention and £23 million investment for land remediation, infrastructure and connection to power grids.
Secondly, Birmingham Knowledge Quarter will run from Birmingham City and Aston universities next to the new HS2 station through to the districts of Duddeston, Nechells and Aston.
The quarter will offer tax incentives, business rates retention and receive £9 million for public realm works and active travel infrastructure in a bid to attract investment.
Finally, Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor will create new green industries and skills through a partnership between the city's council and university, with £7 million investment for land remediation and key infrastructure.
The board's meeting heard that, in getting development under way quickly, there was the potential to retain around £1.5 billion of business rates over the zone's 25-year lifespan which can be reinvested into the region instead of going back to central government.
That reinvestment would be used to maintain a business support and skills programme which will be set up in the first 12 months using £19 million of the £160 million of government funding allocated to the West Midlands zone over the next ten years.
These programmes include money for supply chain adaption, research and development grants, skills training for local residents and work to help innovative companies grow alongside backing from angel investors.
The delivery plan will now be submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for final agreement ahead of the release of the funding.
West Midlands Combined Authority chief executive Laura Shoaf said: "The investment zone is already attracting significant private sector investment and, following the deployment of this delivery plan, will have the potential to attract billions of pounds more as well as tens of thousands of new jobs.
"Those jobs are key because this investment zone needs to be as much about people as it is about business.
"That's why our delivery plan includes a comprehensive skills programme so local people can get the jobs being created, especially those in the new technology-based and green industries."
Cllr Jim O'Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council, said: "This strategic investment and support will attract associated businesses and technologies, enabling Greenpower Park to accelerate the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's transition to an electrified economy and advance battery technology development and sustainable manufacturing practices.
"Here in Coventry and the wider region, thanks to our manufacturing background, we have many of the skills required to power the green industrial revolution and that’s good for today and for the next generation too."
