£2.4 billion ;package will boost buses in Walsall and Dudley, says Chancellor Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves told the Express & Star that extra money was being made available for improving bus services in Dudley and Walsall, and for the 'green innovation corridor' that was being created in Wolverhampton.

Miss Reeves said the Government was also committed to connecting the West Midland tram network to Birmingham Airport, but said it was too soon to give a timescale.

The news has been welcomed by Wolverhampton South East MP, and cabinet minister, Pat McFadden.

"This investment is good news for the West Midlands," he said. "Improvements to the tram and better bus services will make life easier for passengers and be a boost to the local economy.  And it is only possible because the Labour government has prioritised investment for the future in transport, housing and energy."

Speaking at Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground, the Chancellor said the money would be administered by Richard Parker, the elected mayor for the West Midlands, who would decide precisely where it would go. 

The bulk of the money will be spent on extending the metro tram line from Birmingham city centre, eastwards to the proposed new football stadium for Birmingham City at Bordesley Green.

But the Chancellor said funds would also be made available for projects in the Black Country.

"The £2.4 billion is up to Richard to allocate," she said. "But I know for him, one of the priorities is investment in bus routes in Dudley and Walsall, and right across the Black Country, and he will now allocate that money over the next five years to make those improvements that people want to see.

"There will be investment in transport in Wolverhampton along the green investment corridor. This is a significant investment, a big uplift on what was available in the past, and I think this also shows how seriously this government treats devolution and the trust we will put in our mayors."

Miss Reeves said money was also being made available for a new railway station in Witton, near Villa Park, ahead of the Euro 2028 football tournament, and also for light rail around the 'Giga park' battery works in Coventry.

She said the tram extension to the proposed new Birmingham City 'sports village' at the former Birmingham Wheels site in Bordesley Green was the first stage of a scheme that would eventually see the tram network link up with the airport and north Solihull.

Miss Reeves said the new tram extension would bring in £3 billion worth of wider investment, helping to build more than 1,500 new homes and create more than 8,000 jobs.

She said the investment had been made possible because of the decisions she made in her November budget.

"Some of those decisions have been difficult, and they haven't always been popular, but the decisions we made to increase taxes in the Budget last year, including asking businesses to and some of the wealthiest in our country to -pay a bit more, has meant that we have been able to put more money into both our frontline public services, but crucially, more investment money."

Miss Reeves said she was also addressing an inequality in funding, which had left the North and the Midlands lagging behind the rest of the country.

"At the moment, the truth is that opportunity is not always fairly distributed, and yet talent is," she said. "So what we're doing today is, by investing in the North, by investing in the Midlands,  is sharing that prosperity more widely."

Mr Parker said the tram extension would transform lives in a deprived part of the city.

"When I got elected, I made a great big commitment that I wanted every part of this region to benefit from investment and opportunities, and the investment we're making today will help us deliver that."

Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner thanked the Chancellor for a speedy decision on the project, which he said would potentially bring an extra £450 million a year into the city's economy. 

He said as well as a 60,000-seater mixed use stadium, the scheme would also include mixed-use real estate featuring a range of entertainment options.

“The Chancellor’s undertaking to upgrade transport links in East Birmingham is a huge step forward," he said. 

"It gives us the springboard we need to advance this transformative project at pace, bringing huge benefits to the people of east Birmingham and the wider region in the shape of jobs and opportunities, as well as economic growth that will be felt across the whole of the UK.”

He added that the scheme would not have been possible were it not for the commitment to HS2.