West Mids Secure Further £66m in Funding

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) have secured up to an additional £66 million in Government funding to kick-start a series of ‘shovel-ready’ schemes to help drive the region’s post COVID-19 recovery.

The money is from the Government’s Getting Building Fund and is in direct response to a list the region submitted three weeks ago of infrastructure schemes that can be underway within 18 months and that can also get the local economy moving again.

A separate £8 million pot of funding, which has been confirmed by Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has been allocated to Warwickshire.

The list put forward by the WMCA, Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, the Black Country LEP and Coventry and Warwickshire LEP covered a wide range of schemes including new railway stations and other transport infrastructure, 5G, digital and technology-based projects, life sciences and urban renewal.

The WMCA will now work together with the three LEPs in order to send a finalised list of schemes back to the UK Government.

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street said: “This latest announcement means the West Midlands has now received £150m of Government funding in the space of just three days as we look to re-boot our regional economy from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Infrastructure investment is going to be key to our economy bouncing back quickly from this crisis, and this new £66m funding means we can now press ahead, and in some cases accelerate, a number of important infrastructure schemes for the region.”

This latest funding follows on from the Prime Minister’s ‘New Deal’ announcement in Dudley on June 30^th, 2020, which included £84 million for the West Midlands Combined Authority to unlock more derelict industrial land for housing. The region also submitted a £3.2 million blueprint to the Government in June to kickstart the West Midlands economy and create long-term prosperity for the region and wider UK.

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