£3.2bn masterplan to create 50,000 jobs in Staffordshire

A bid is being made to Government for £120 million to get projects under way, including improvements to the A34 arterial route from Stafford to nearby Stone and the Meaford development, where work will be kickstarted to deliver up to 2,500 jobs.

It would also mean a start of work on the Lichfield Park business site, on land at Streethay beside the A34, more than a decade after it was first proposed.

It is suggested Lichfield Park could eventually create up to 2,100 jobs.

Staffordshire is bidding for a slice of Lord Heseltine's £2 billion Single Local Growth Fund, but will have to compete with other areas like Birmingham.

The bid has been put together by the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the joint body made up of business leaders and council chiefs, asking for £780 million over a six-year period to 2020.

Parts of the county are also set to benefit from plans put together by Birmingham's LEP, which includes Cannock Chase and Lichfield.

It suggests sites in the south of the county have the potential to create 23,000 jobs in the next few years.

The winners and losers will be revealed in July.

If it succeeds, the Staffordshire plan would see:

• The regeneration of the Meaford site near Stone, including construction of a new gas-fired power station by St Modwen.

• Around £6 million of improvement work on the A34.

• Powerhouse Central, a plan to supply locally-produced, sustainable energy to major employers.

• Development of 20-acre Lichfield Park, one of six key industrial sites in the county.

A new business chief has been hired to spearhead the new plans, with David Frost – former head of the British Chambers of Commerce – taking over from Ron Dougan as chairman of the LEP.

Mr Frost said the endorsement of the bid and strategic plan by Minister for Cities Greg Clark would boost business confidence across the region.

Mr Frost said: "The Single Local Growth Fund bid sets out our ambitious plans to grow our economy by 50 per cent over the next decade and create 50,000 jobs."

Mr Clark said: "This provides the opportunity to unleash the ambition and creativity of local leaders by devolving resource and responsibility in return for compelling local economic leadership in pursuit of growth."