Express & Star

West Midlands Mayor confident region will bounce back with 'jobs revival'

Andy Street has backed the region to continue its 'jobs revival' as it bids to battle through the latest Covid crisis in the New Year.

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Andy Street

The West Midlands Mayor said ramping up the vaccine drive was key to the region's economic fortunes as he unveiled his plans for 2022.

He said he wanted to see boosters delivered in their "hundreds of thousands" to minimise disruption and enable the West Midlands to build on the "gathering momentum" that has seen around 61,000 new jobs created since March.

He vowed to push for changes to the Black Country Plan that will see green belt sites replaced with brownfield, and said he was confident that the region's gigafactory will finally get the go ahead.

The mayor said the Commonwealth Games would be a huge fillip for the region, which would continue to undergo major changes through ongoing infrastructure and transport developments.

Mr Street told the Express & Star: "The revival in jobs is gathering momentum and it building confidence.

"Since we hit a trough in March there have been 61,000 new jobs across the three LEP areas [Black Country, Birmingham and Warwickshire].

"It is crucial that it continues into the New Year. The direction of travel is upwards and we have got to push that on further."

Mr Street also said he believed Boris Johnson was the right man to lead the country through the pandemic.

"Under the PM's leadership, the Government has continued to invest in the West Midlands," he said.

"Levelling up is the defining mission of this Government and he sees great opportunity here and understands our potential."