i54 'shows economy is on the up'
[gallery] Steel girders, diggers and high-vis clad workmen – the i54 business park is proof the economy is on the move.
That is the verdict of the former Olympics boss turned infrastructure minister Lord Paul Deighton, as he pledged another £6.25 million to install the heavy duty electricity supplies that will help bring thousands of new jobs to Wolverhampton and south Staffordshire.
The 226-acre i54 is well-documented as the site where Jaguar Land Rover is creating 1,400 jobs at a £500 million engine plant. But councils and the Government want as many as 6,000 people working at the i54 by 2020.
There are already hundreds at JLR's neighbours, the aerospace giant Moog and the food testing company Eurofins.
And hot on their heels is International Security Printers, which is building a 70,000 sq ft stamp printing factory.
The new investment for infrastructure, part of a £100m pot nationally, follows on from £36.7m being spent by Wolverhampton City Council and Staffordshire County Council to provide a new slip road from the M54 motorway.
A bridge is being built over the motorway, with traffic reduced to 50mph.
The cost is being borne by the councils. But the money they have borrowed will be repaid from business rates paid by JLR and other companies on the i54. The site itself attracts a tax break for new arrivals.
Lord Deighton said: "It's a micro version of the whole economy. What's impressive is how different local authorities have spotted the opportunity and made good decisions.
"Moving forward, it's going to be about how we drive up skills in the labour market."
The funding Lord Deighton announced was specifically for the i54 and will be used to provide a further incentive for companies to relocate there, knowing that their various large demands on power will be catered for.
However the i54 is just one of 19 sites in the Black Country Enterprise Zone. Many other sites, particularly in Darlaston, are in need of major work to decontaminate the land and make them ready for development. Lord Deighton said: "In the future there will be grants made available for schemes that councils put forward. We have to prioritise them."
