There was good news for employment in Acocks Green and the whole West Midlands today as the region emerged as the big winner in the first round of the Regional Growth Fund bids confirmed today by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

More than 40,000 jobs will be created in the West Midlands – just over 6,000 directly and another 34,000 indirectly – which is by far the highest of any region in the country. Major local schemes which get funding include:

• A project to undertake design engineering for a new family of engines in the Midlands and separately for a new small common vehicle platform for technologically advanced premium automotive vehicles in Whitley and Gaydon, Warwickshire, both at Jaguar Land Rover.
• A45 Corridor Improvement (Damson Parkway to M42 Junction 6). The project will divert the A45 transport corridor to provide a dual carriageway incorporating a public transport corridor, along with technology enhancements at junctions to improve traffic flows. Diversion of the A45 will serve several development sites including the Birmingham Airport railway/airport interchange, the NEC and several employment sites. 

Both Jaguar Land Rover and the Airport / NEC complex are vital employers for Acocks Green as well as the broader region and these key investments will help support employment growth and a recovery of economic prosperity in coming years.

It particularly good to see many of the projects across the country delivering major investment in manufacturing. It was the scandalous neglect of this sector of the economy under both the Thatcher and last Labour governments that made our economy so vulnerable to the financial crisis of 2008 and led to the cuts in public spending having to be so deep now. While its too late to put that right, at least we are now laying the foundations for a more broadly based economy, which will benefit everyone in years to come.