M42 Economic Gateway

The M42 Economic Gateway in Solihull is the West Midlands’ principal international gateway and strongest performing economy, supporting an estimated 100,000 jobs region-wide and contributing £5.1bn to regional GDP.

It is the location for a unique combination of economic assets of national and regional economic importance:

• Birmingham Airport
• The National Exhibition Centre (the ‘NEC’)
• Jaguar Land Rover
• Birmingham and Blythe Valley Business Parks
• Solihull Town Centre

The Gateway has excellent international and national transport links via Birmingham Airport, Birmingham International rail station on the West Coast Mainline, Solihull station on the Chiltern Line and the M42 motorway.

If the proposed High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) is constructed, the Gateway will be brought within a 40-minute journey time of central London by 2026 via a Birmingham Interchange station located adjacent to the NEC.

The Gateway has been successful in attracting overseas investment and has particular sector representation in advanced manufacturing (particularly automotive), ICT, business and professional services, construction, transport and logistics and business tourism.

The importance of the Gateway as an economic growth driver has been recognised by the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Local Enterprise Partnership.

Solihull Council - working with its LEP partners, the Gateway assets, neighbouring authorities, Government and its agencies – is focused on developing a road-map for “managed economic growth” that will:

• capture the economic growth potential arising from the Gateway assets and HS2;
• bring forward economic growth in a way that does not undermine the Gateway’s strengths – including its excellent transport connectivity, environmental quality and quality of life;
• give confidence to investors to invest in the Gateway so that its potential can be realised;
• provide a framework for capturing wider regeneration benefits of economic growth in the Gateway.

To support this process Solihull Council is commissioning consultants to produce a Prospectus, including a vision and master plan, for “managed economic growth” in the Gateway, and an associated implementation and investment plan. This work is due to be completed by March 2013.

Strategic Spatial Framework Plan

A new, long-term Strategic Spatial Framework Plan (SSFP) is being prepared by the GBS LEP in parallel with the new Strategy for Growth. This forms a key component of the work under the ‘Place’ pillar of the work of the GBSLEP.

The SSFP will look at the level and distribution of growth across the LEP over the next 20 years and provide a framework for the statutory development planning taking place in the GBSLEP’s nine local authority areas.

The defining characteristic of the new plan is that it will be prepared informally by the nine local authorities in the GBSLEP co‐operating with each other and collaborating with business and other partners to produce a high-level plan. This plan will help deliver the aspirations for growth as well as leading to improving quality of life for everyone who lives in the LEP area.

The plan will look at the scale, broad distribution and directions of growth and the component elements which make up that growth and in doing so hopefully provide a strategic steer and coherence to the individual development plans that all districts are, by law, required to prepare. The work will also help inform and enable the new ‘Duty to Co-operate’ in the Localism Act.

This new style of strategic planning making has only a small number of stages:

1. Mapping existing development plan policy
2. Engagement around a series of themed events
3. Themed group working to test set scenarios and produce outcomes to a common format
4. Synthesis of the work from stages II and III to produce a working draft SSFP
5. Conference to discuss the emerging SSFP
6. The LEP Board agree initial SSFP for consultation and agreement
7. Monitoring and Refresh SSFP – annual process.

Further Information

As the project progresses further information will be added here in chronological order, with the most recent information added to the top.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of the work in the first instance please contact David Carter who chairs the Spatial Planning Group on 0121 303 4041 or via email at [email protected].

Stage 3: Scenario Testing

In November and December 2012 five themed groups will be working to carry out a scenario testing exercise address the following questions:

1. Where are current trends and plans taking us?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. What do we need to do to get there?

The output of the themed groups will be analysed and collated to inform the preparation of a first draft of the SSFP in early 2013.

The five theme groups are covering the following topics:

1. Shaping the economy
2. Homes & communities
3. Urban structure and settlement patterns
4. Connectivity
5. Sustainable living and environment

A briefing paper on the Scenario Testing phase of the work has been prepared and this is available here.

If you would like to be involved in one or more of the topic groups in the first instance please contact David Carter (Email: [email protected] Tel: 0121 303 4041)

Stage 2: Engagement Events

In September 2012 a series of four themed events on the SSFP plan were held in locations across the LEP area. The agendas, notes of discussions and copies of all the presentations can be found in the following links.

North Worcestershire

East Staffordshire

Solihull

Birmingham

Stage 1: Mapping existing development plan policy and launch of the Planning Charter

Initial mapping of ongoing development planning work in the GBSLEP, identification of the issues to be addressed by the work and details of the ‘Planning Charter’ which has been endorsed by all the GBSLEP’s local planning authorities to provide a welcoming and business-friendly planning service.

Download the Planning Charter

The leaflet was launched at an initial visioning event held in February 2012 at Arup’s offices at Blythe Valley Business Park. The agenda, notes of discussions and copies of the presentations can be found here.

Greater Birmingham City Deal

On Thursday July 5 2012, following several months of negotiations between the LEP and Government, the Greater Birmingham City Deal was announced.

The City Deal is a bespoke package of measures to drive economic growth designed to exploit the area’s economic assets and address its challenges.

In Birmingham, the decision was made to negotiate with Government on a LEP-wide basis, reflecting the importance attached to the LEP agenda and ensuring a cross-party and public-private sector partnership approach to negotiations.

The first phase of City Deal focuses on delivering a range of economic benefits for the Greater Birmingham and Solihull area. These include:

• 10,000 additional direct jobs, building on the 40,000 created by the vanguard Enterprise Zone in Birmingham City Centre;
• Leveraging in over £15bn of private sector investment over 25 years from £1.5bn of public funding;
• A Single Settlement to cover all economic development funding;
• A world-class skills system which meets the needs of employers and fulfils the expectations of employees;
• 3,560 apprenticeships (AGE) grants to be delivered by March 2013;
• Improvements to employers’ perceptions of ‘work readiness’ year-on-year;
• In excess of 2,800 additional new homes through the use of public assets;
• At least 100% capital return on current market value of public assets;
• An Institute of Translational Medicine to respond to national unmet need, unlock growth potential in the NHS and create a portal for SMEs and international pharmaceutical companies;
• £35m of largely private sector clinical trial investment and £50m of free drugs;
• 15,000 homes refurbished delivering savings in domestic energy usage of 26 ktonnes pa of CO² and at least 40 public buildings refurbished delivering savings in energy usage of 10 ktonnes pa of CO²; and
• Retrofitting to the properties of 1,500 people on pension or disability premium and 2,250 people in fuel poverty.

The components of the City Deal

The City Deal comprises five components: GBS Finance; Skills; Public Assets; Life Sciences and Green Deal, each of which includes specific commitments from the LEP and Government. Progress against these will be monitored to ensure they are delivered.

GBS Finance

The creation of a £1.5bn fund will enable the LEP to manage, recycle and leverage a number of public and private sector funding streams to deliver LEP priorities. This new approach to local economic investment will be self-sustaining; mitigating the impact of future economic shocks and reducing dependence on government grants. The fund could leverage in £15bn of private sector funding over 25 years.

Skills for Growth Accelerator

Designed to help address the significant skills challenges of the area, this proposal includes the development of a Skills for Growth Compact that will commit employers, colleges and schools to building a best-in-class skills service to link pupils and learners with real-world work opportunities.

By getting local businesses into schools and colleges to lecture, mentor and train, this initiative will help young people get the skills they need and link them to job opportunities. The LEP has committed to recruiting 25% of businesses to the Compact by 2015.

A Skills for Growth Hub will also be created to increase the number of apprenticeships in high growth and key employment sectors. The LEP has received an allocation of 3,560 Apprenticeship Grants for Employers (AGE) grants.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has committed a £1m capital investment for specialist equipment and tools to support the teaching of skills associated with key sectors.

Find out more about skills

Development of Public Assets Accelerator

Creation of a rolling asset-based development vehicle to unlock the potential of underused public land for housing and employment and so support growth.

The vehicle will include receipts from the disposal of ex-Advantage West Midlands economic assets, now managed by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and a defined set of LEP assets to a 40:60 ratio.

A LEP Investment Plan for Growth will be developed in partnership with the HCA to prioritise housing, mixed-use and employment development projects.

Life Sciences Accelerator

Development an Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) to capitalise on Birmingham’s leading position in life sciences and its unique assets as a location for clinical trials is a key part of the City Deal.

The ITM will accelerate discoveries from the lab bench to patient bedside, enabling products to be tested and brought to markets faster, yielding major health and economic benefits. Pharmaceutical firms will be co-located with clinicians and academics and will have access to one of a patient catchment region of more than five million, one of the biggest in Europe.

The Government has committed to contributing £12m to support this project with £8m from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and £4m from the Department of Health.

Green Deal Accelerator

This will see an expansion of the city’s pioneering Birmingham Energy Savers programme which aims to provide energy efficient improvements to 15,000 houses and 40 buildings.

£3m has been secured from the Department for Environment and Climate Change, subject to approved business cases, to pilot new green deal solutions in the hardest to treat properties, including selected ‘eco-neighbourhoods’ and tower blocks.

On September 18 2012, the City Deal document was formally signed at Whitehall by Minister of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government and a GBSLEP delegation.

City Deal phase two

It is intended that the initial City Deal announcement is only the first stage of the negotiations and the LEP is developing further proposals which will accelerate growth. These are focused on:

• Transport: developing a strong, efficient and sustainable transport infrastructure that connects the wider conurbation; and
• M42 Economic Gateway: development and delivery of an Investment Plan to unlock the significant growth potential of this area.

We will post further updates to the City Deal process here as they happen.

Link to Government press release announcing City Deal

Download City Deal Summary

Download City Deal press release

HS2 and GBSLEP

HS2 is the right choice now and for future generations.

At GBSLEP we strongly believe development of a High Speed Rail line connecting our area to London, continental Europe via HS1/Eurostar as well as northern cities and Scotland is fundamental to achieving our economic ambitions.

HS2 is forecast to bring substantial economic benefit to our area through jobs, investment and output growth. The new line will provide a step change in the competitiveness of Greater Birmingham and Solihull.

It is anticipated around 8,600 jobs will be created as a direct result of HS2 at the proposed station sites and maintenance depot. There is the potential for up to 22,000 new jobs in the West Midlands if delivered in conjunction with a range of regional and local rail enhancements and feeder services, whilst it will act as a catalyst for developing engineering skills and wider employment opportunities.

It is estimated that HS2 could raise the GVA for the West Midlands by up to £1.5 billion per annum once it is complete.

International connectivity is vital to attracting and retaining inward investment. HS2 will significantly improve links with our largest export market – Europe. The HS2 station at the Airport/NEC will act as a major integrated transport hub, linking to the motorway network, London Heathrow, London Euston station, London Crossrail, HS1 and Eurostar.

HS2 will also play an important role in addressing rail capacity issues. Investment in a new line will help to ensure local and commuter services using the West Coast Mainline are not displaced in favour of more profitable intercity services as demand continues to grow.

The Board of GBSLEP will be working closely with Government and other stakeholders to ensure all parts of our area benefit from HS2, with improved transport links across the metropolitan area, northern Worcestershire and southern Staffordshire.

We will press for appropriate mitigation of any environmental and social impacts, but are committed to ensuring we capture and maximise the economic opportunities and potential of HS2 for the benefit of the whole of our area.

HS2 carries the support of the majority of those represented on our Board, but we acknowledge the differing view of Lichfield District Council.

We support, in principle, that consideration be given to the development of a HSR station in Staffordshire.

Useful Links

www.highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk

The Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone

The Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone is one of the major projects for the GBSLEP, with the potential to create 40,000 new jobs over the lifetime of the project, add £2 billion a year to the economy and make available 1.3m sq metres of floorspace.

Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone, comprises 26 sites across the city centre covering 68 hectares in seven clusters at Westside, Snow Hill District, Eastside, Southern Gateway, Digbeth Creative Quarter, Birmingham Science Park Aston and the Jewellery Quarter.

These sites are focussed on the business and financial services, Information and Communication Technology, creative industries and digital media sectors which are already clustered in the city centre and present significant growth opportunities.

An simplified planning regime is being introduced across the whole of the EZ in addition to Local Development Orders (LDO) being used in Digbeth and Birmingham Science Park Aston, which will remove the need to apply for planning permission for a wide range of changes of use, making it easier for growing small businesses to be mobile.

Additional support will be provided to businesses locating within the EZ before 2015 through business rates relief of up to £275,000 over five years.

And the EZ will provide superfast broadband focused on the clusters of IT, creative and digital businesses in Digbeth, Eastside, the Jewellery Quarter, Southern Gateway and St George and St Chad Quarter.

Over its 25 year lifetime, the retained uplift in business rates will enable the LEP to invest in a range of infrastructure, business support, employment and skills and access to finance projects to support its priorities.

Enterprise Zone Investment plan

In July 2012, the Board of the LEP approved an Investment Plan which sets out how the uplift in business rates will be used to deliver the first phase of investment in infrastructure to unlock development and growth in the Zone.

The plan builds on the recognition that early intervention is required to accelerate growth in the City Centre – an area which has both the characteristics to accommodate significant new employment-creating business activity in key sectors, and for which a framework for growth is in place in the form of the Big City Plan – Birmingham’s blueprint for investors which shows how the city will be transformed over the next 20 years.

Set out within the Plan is the initial programme of projects covering seven key themes:

• Site development and access - businesses need space to establish and grow and the Zone will maintain and develop a range of opportunities for business providing funding for enabling works.

• Infrastructure - in order to allow Zone sites to realise their full potential, investment will be focussed on a range of infrastructure provision, such as access, energy and transport solutions, which will unlock growth and help to deliver economic priorities.

• Digital connectivity - the development of digital infrastructure to facilitate affordable access to superfast broadband will assist businesses particularly those operating in the IT, creative and digital sectors in Digbeth, Eastside and Jewellery Quarter.

• Business development and support – a package of measures including training, advice, consultancy and grants, including financial support to assist new start ups, business growth and recruitment. Businesses will also benefit from business rates relief of up to £55,000 per annum over a five year period.

• Skills development – funding to provide employer-focussed recruitment, company training and enhanced apprenticeships.

• Simplified planning - a Local Development Order (LDO) is now in place in Digbeth and Birmingham Science Park Aston (BSPA) allowing a wider range of changes of use without the requirement for planning permission. A simplified planning regime for the wider EZ area will see dedicated resources and streamlined processes to support applicants.

• Marketing – Foreign Direct Investment Incentive and Marketing Scheme promoting the EZ sites to investors and businesses.

The programme of projects, totalling £128 million, will be funded through the uplift in business rates generated by the zone and will help deliver 600,000 sq metres of floorspace and 20,000 jobs. This represents over half the outputs of the EZ.

The headline investments within the programme are £61m for the redevelopment of Paradise Circus, £25m for the extension of the Metro to Centenary Square and £18m for the provision of high quality and safe connections to economic opportunities for SME’s in Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter.

The programme of investments will start to unlock the growth potential in the EZ and support delivery of the LEP’s objectives for the region. This will have a crucial role in strengthening the region’s economy drawing in private sector investment and stimulating job creation.

Download Enterprise Zone Leaflet

Download Enterprise Zone Investment Plan

Download Enterprise Zone press release July 2012

The Regional Growth Fund

The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is a Government challenge fund of £2.4 billion running between 2011 and 2015 to encourage private sector growth and new jobs, particularly in areas and communities currently dependent on the public sector. All projects are expected to lever private sector investment for long-term growth and private sector employment.

The criteria for bids are as follows:

• Create additional sustainable private sector growth
• Rebalance the economy in those areas currently dependent on the public sector
• Would not otherwise go ahead without support from the Regional Growth Fund
• Offer value for money; and
• Are state aid compliant.

RGF Round 3

RGF Round 3 - worth £1 billion across England - is to be spent by March 2015 with minimum bids of £1 million invited on projects that make a significant contribution to the objectives of the Fund or programmes that demonstrate a clear over-arching investment strategy for a specific geographical area.

How to apply

For an opportunity to access the RGF, you may wish to book an Expression of Interest meeting with the RGF team. See Regional Events and EOIs here.

The links for our most up-to-date data sources for the official statistics which will be used in assessing the locations that bids will impact are also listed. It will be important to consider other evidence, and bidders are asked to submit any other information they believe will help us in forming a good understanding of the relative reliance of the area the bid will cover.

Further information about the application process for RGF Round 3 can be found here.

The GBSLEP Funding Sub-Group representatives will provide support to prospective private sector applicants within the GBSLEP area where it can. This can include offering a critical friend to review any draft bids (without any contractual obligations). The GBSLEP can also offer endorsement letters where it feels comfortable to do so.

If you are interested in receiving this assistance please contact Debbie Harris on 01543 464490 or email [email protected].

Previous RGF Rounds

Round 1

In Round 1 of the RGF process announced on April 12 2011, 50 out of 450 bids nationally were successful (subject to due diligence) including five in the West Midlands. These are forecast to create 6,193 direct and 34,669 indirect jobs.

GBSLEP helped to secure two major bids:

These projects represent 19% of the total RGF allocation. Other successful applicants in the West Midlands in Round 1 were:

Round 2

On October 31 2011, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced 119 projects had been successful in Round 2. Discussions are ongoing with a further 10 bidders about their projects. In total, over 490 bids were received totalling £3.3 billion.

Round 2 conditional allocations will total £950 million nationally – which is the remaining allocation from the £1.4 billion fund. It is expected that the investment will support nearly £6 billion of private sector investment and create or protect 201,000 jobs, around 37,000 will be directly created jobs and more than 164,000 will be in the supply chain and local economies.

In the GBSLEP, four projects have received a conditional allocation, including two cross-LEP bids:

A full list of successful bids from Round 2 are listed on the BIS website http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/economic-development/regional-growth-fund/successful-2nd-round-bids

Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative

This is a national initiative with a fund of up to £125 million to create more competitive supply chains, sustain or create new employment opportunities, and create better synergies and sustained collaborative relationships throughout supply chains that participate in this initiative.

The competition seeks to provide a flexible approach in the type of support that can be provided to address the key barriers to supply chain development. This initiative can provide grants and loans to successful projects demonstrating real ambition to create globally competitive supply chains. The funding can also support a combination of investment in capital equipment, research and development, and training and skills in recognition of the flexibility needed to overcome the barriers that suppliers and supply chains can face.

Birmingham City Council will oversee the competition to award funds for this national scheme. The Technology Strategy Board will support Birmingham City Council in running the competition process.

There are two different funding streams:

• Stream 1 - £100 million is available in all manufacturing sectors to support applications from organisations in England which are seeking to make a sectoral-level impact. Projects must be collaborative with an expected minimum of £2 million of support per project, although exceptions will be considered where there is strong evidence that the initiative’s aims can still be met.

• Stream 2 - £25 million is available for projects in aerospace or automotive supply chains, based within the four Local Enterprise Partnership areas that were part of the existing successful RGF bid (Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham and Solihull and Liverpool City Region) and which require a minimum of £200,000 of support per project.

Applicants will need to consider the eligibility criteria for each and which would be most appropriate to support the aims of the application.

For further information, visit the Technology Strategy board website.

Growing Places

In February 2012, GBSLEP received just over £15.2 million from Government to support infrastructure developments which create new homes, jobs and growth.

The Growing Places fund is designed to boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new jobs and get stalled projects moving again.

Examples of eligible projects include supporting infrastructure costs in order to service development sites and roads and access improvements to unlock developments and enable the delivery of new jobs, commercial space and homes.

It will make available ‘revolving funds’ with money paid back by applicants and then re-invested into further schemes across the LEP geography.

The first allocation of Growing Places funding was approved in March 2012. The first allocation saw eight projects receive approval with a combined value of £12.075 million with an expected private sector leverage of £85 million.

Receiving funding in round one were: East Aston Regional Investment Site, Dove Way, Uttoxeter; Gallan Park, Cannock; Hoobrook Link Road, Kidderminster; Icknield Port Loop, Edgbaston; Lyndhurst Estate, Erdington; Mill Green, Cannock; North Arran Way, Solihull.

For further detail about these projects, download the press release.

Interested parties should contact Debbie Harris, Principal Economic Development officer via [email protected] for further information.