West Midlands outlines £20bn of investment opportunities

The West Midlands Combined Authority has published a prospectus of investment opportunities across the region worth a combined £20bn. 

A total of 29 schemes were named in the West Midlands Investment Prospectus 2023, including housing, commercial, regeneration and infrastructure projects. 

The proposals, which were identified in partnership with local authorities across the West Midlands, include a 630-home residential development at Friar Park and a new train station in Walsall. 

The West Midlands has already secured more than £700m in devolved housing funds from the government since 2018 to support its aggressive brownfield-first policy. 

Work has commenced on all sites featured in the 2018, which included landmark projects such as Friargate in Coventry and the UK Central Hub and HS2 Interchange project in Solihull. 

West Midlands mayor Andy Street said: “More and more major national and indeed global players are recognising the investment opportunities on offer here in our region. 

“With a young, skilled and diverse workforce, internationally renowned higher education institutions, and outstanding connectivity – set to be bolstered in the coming years by the arrival of HS2 – our economy is well placed to prosper in the months and years ahead. 

“This Investment Prospectus comes on the back of last summer’s hugely successful Commonwealth Games as well as the new Deeper Devolution Deal this March where we secured £1.5bn of new funding from the government – alongside a significant tranche of new powers covering housing and regeneration, transport and skills, giving us even more levers to deliver for local people and our partners in the private sector.”