Small Black Country firms to benefit from modern new premises thanks to £3.6m WMCA investment

A derelict industrial site in the Black Country is to be transformed into a high-quality industrial scheme thanks to a multi-million-pound investment by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).The 2.7 acre site on Cakemore Road, Rowley Regis has been derelict for a number of years but will now be home to more than 54,000sqft of modern industrial and distribution units which are in short supply across the West Midlands.The development is expected to provide a much-needed boost for small firms struggling to find suitable premises in which to establish and grow their business, something which is seen as crucial if the regional economy is to successfully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.The WMCA has now stepped in with a £3.6m loan deal to help Solihull-based Warmflame Developments Ltd clean up the site, which was previously occupied by engineering and information technology company Invensys, and build the premises which when fully let will be home to around 100 jobs.Throughout the lockdown period the WMCA has continued to press ahead with its multi-million-pound investment programme to unlock and transform brownfield sites. This has helped to provide market confidence and drive the region’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery, delivering much needed new commercial property, jobs and homes.Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, today (Tuesday September 8) visited the site to officially get work on the scheme underway.The Warmflame scheme is the latest example of the WMCA’s trailblazing, brownfield-first approach to new commercial and housing developments, which sees derelict industrial sites cleaned up while precious greenbelt land is protected. Access to the funding was provided by Frontier Development Capital Ltd.A focus on brownfield development also formed part of the region’s £3.2bn investment blueprint which was submitted to Government in July and designed to recharge the regional economy and create long-term prosperity.Ministers have already signalled their intention to back the blueprint, which had sought extra cash to extend the region’s brownfield-first programme, by announcing a further £84m for the WMCA to accelerate the redevelopment of former industrial land.WMCA investments to unlock developments on brownfield land are made through the authority’s Single Commissioning Framework, which provides a single set of criteria applied to all housing projects in the region, including requirements on affordable housing, design and modular construction.