Advantage West Midlands has secured £28 million from the Department for Transport (DfT) on behalf of the region’s shadow Joint Strategy & Investment Board, to boost investment for key transport projects in the West Midlands.
Funding from the DfT is being added to £12 million from the regional development agency to form the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF), a £40 million pot providing critical early infrastructure support to unlock key developments within the Impact Investment Locations in selected areas around the region.
The first project in the West Midlands to benefit from the DfT funding provided through the RIF is the development of the Wolverhampton Interchange. Advantage West Midlands has approved £9.8 million of funding for Wolverhampton City Council for the £22 million Phase 1 of the Interchange project. The project will transform the transport infrastructure of the City, unlocking the development of new office and retail space, starting with the redevelopment of the bus station.
A key principle of the Regional Infrastructure Fund is that monies committed to projects are repaid when developments become profitable; this money is then returned to the Fund, enabling further investment to be made.
The successful application for DfT funds was made by Advantage West Midlands on behalf of the shadow Joint Strategy & Investment Board (JS&IB), a partnership between the region’s local authorities and business community, established to provide the West Midlands with a powerful alliance to drive forward the physical and economic regeneration of the area.
Co-chaired by new Advantage West Midlands’ chairman Sir Roy McNulty and Councillor Roger Phillips (leader of Herefordshire Council), the shadow JS&IB board includes local authority leaders from across the region – Cllr Ken Taylor (Coventry), Cllr Philip Atkins (Staffordshire), Cllr Mike Whitby (Birmingham), Cllr Neville Patten (Wolverhampton) and Cllr Paul Middleborough (Wychavon) – as well as the AWM deputy chair David Brown and Barrie Williams from Business Voice West Midlands.
Sir Roy McNulty said: “The securing of Department for Transport funds on behalf of the region is a great triumph for the shadow JS&IB. This injection of investment will allow us to kick start transport projects in the region, such as the Wolverhampton bus station redevelopment, which will have a major impact on the local and regional area.
“With representation from AWM, local authorities, businesses, and Homes and Communities Agency and the Highways Agency, the shadow JS&IB is the first step towards creating a powerful coalition in the region – one that has the energy, expertise and resource necessary to effect genuinely transformational change in key areas such as transport infrastructure.”
Co-chair Councillor Roger Philips added: “The shadow Joint Strategy and Investment Board has already played a key role in helping to bring the region’s major public sector organisations around one table, and establishing priorities for the good of the West Midlands. Moving forward, we are setting in motion a new era of much stronger partnership with the funds to work at both a strategic and local level.”
In its shadow capacity, the JS&IB was established in November 2008 to develop the West Midlands Regional Funding Advice 2009-19, which was submitted to Government in March 2009. By working together to agree the funding advice and priorities for transport, housing, regeneration, economic development and skills, the shadow JS&IB were able to apply joined up thinking to the future development of the West Midlands, maximizing the region’s £800m p/a public sector resources.
In particular, the shadow JS&IB identified the need to prioritise funding for specific areas of the West Midlands which required significant investment. Adhering to a collective agenda, the JS&IB members agreed to channel funds in to 20 Impact Investment Locations (IIL) across the West Midlands. The RIF funds will be focused on key transport projects in these locations, which accelerate economic regeneration both locally and regionally.
The shadow JS&IB is advised by a Regional Advisory Group, comprising senior officers from AWM, local government, Government Office, Homes & Communities Agency, Highways Agency and Learning & Skills Council.