● Jaguar Land Rover plans to buy home of British Grand Prix
Jaguar Land Rover is in talks, it emerged earlier this month, to buy the historic Silverstone racing circuit with plans for a multi-million pound redevelopment.
The car giant made a bid for the circuit, home to the British Grand Prix, thought to be valued at almost £23 million, sources told the Birmingham Post .
JLR wants to create a five-star hotel, JLR heritage centre, motor industry museum, vehicle design workshop, offices and a visitor centre at the Northamptonshire venue.
Talks between JLR and the British Racing Drivers' Club, which owns the circuit, are continuing but the Tata Motors-owned manufacturer's board has given the green light.
● Designer shopping village gets green light
The West Midlands will have its own giant designer outlet village - bringing 1,200 jobs with it.
Developers hope exclusive retailers will flock to Cannock after proposals to develop a huge parcel of land were given the green light after first being unveiled in summer 2014.
They claim the scheme, which would be the closest this region has to Bicester Village, would bring an extra three million visitors a year to the region.
It would have up to 130 designer outlet stores, new restaurants and around 2,000 car parking spaces on the site, next to the Mill Green Nature Reserve.
● Mailbox move signals 400 IT jobs in city
Around 400 jobs are set to come to Birmingham after The Mailbox secured a new tenant for its revamped office space.
Advanced Computer Software Group, which currently has a base on Birmingham Science Park Aston, agreed a pre-let deal on 45,000 sq ft of space in the mixed-use complex which recently underwent a £50 million facelift.
It is believed to be the largest single floorpate available within Birmingham and will see ACS take the entire third floor as well as it becoming the firm's Midlands HQ.
The office accommodation is currently undergoing remodelling work to reconfigure it to grade A standard with a dedicated reception, due for completion early in 2016.
● Birmingham business leaders urge fresh look after Heathrow delay
Business leaders in Birmingham urged the Government to look again at existing airport capacity following its decision to delay a final verdict on whether to add a third runaway at Heathrow.
Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, wanted the Government to put forward a strategy for making best use of existing capacity after spending the past five months reviewing the conclusions of the Airports Commission.
In July, the commission recommended that the Heathrow third runway scheme should be taken forward with the Government due to act on this recommendation by the end of this year.
It announced in December it would wait until summer 2016 to decide whether a third runway should be built.
● Birmingham's tallest office tower gets go-ahead
Building work is set to start on Birmingham's tallest office block in January after city planners gave the project the green light.
The 30-storey tower, part of the Beorma Quarter development in Digbeth, was given unanimous support by the council's planning committee this month and hailed as a key regeneration project for the city.
Kuwaiti developer Salhia Investments is behind the project, valued at £200 million, which has been in the pipeline for more than five years.
The Beorma Quarter is named after the Anglo-Saxon founder of Birmingham.
Chief planning officer Richard Goulborn said: "This is a huge scheme involving a huge piece of inward investment and is to be welcomed."
● Powergen plans to spell the end for Madin's office block
Plans were finally lodged to knock down and regenerate the former Powergen site in Solihull more than two decades after it was vacated.
The £75 million redevelopment, which would see the end of another building designed by renowned Birmingham architect John Madin, would be centred around an ExtraCare retirement village for elderly people.
Joint venture partnership Shirley Advance, which was behind the nearby Parkgate retail development, was hoping to secure permission to regenerate the plot on the corner of Haslucks Green Road and the A34.
● Congestion charge plan hidden in budget small print
Birmingham transport bosses put forward plans for a city centre congestion charge to cut the amount of traffic on the roads and improve air quality.
The plan, which was accompanied by a clean air zone tax for lorries, was hidden away in pages of supplementary notes attached to the council's new budget proposals.
But they will face a battle from the new Labour council leader John Clancy, who only took the job at the start of December, as he quickly vowed to put a brake on the proposal.
He said: "I am going nowhere near it."
● JLR linked with Formula One return
Jaguar Land Rover is to enter a team into the Formula E racing championship - raising hopes of a return to Formula One.
The car giant will enter a Jaguar team into the FIA Formula E championship from next year, it announced during December, and will use it to develop electric technologies to go into road cars.
Automotive experts are hoping it might be a step towards Formula One - which JLR was involved with in 2004 under previous owner Ford - particularly after the Post revealed its plans to buy Silverstone.
In Formula E, it will work with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, which runs the Williams F1 team, to develop the car and engine.
Review of Year 2015 - February
