Birmingham and Solihull has been handed a £54 million boost to grow and develop high-tech industries and ensure staff have the skills to work in them.

Communities Secretary and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javed unveiled details of the latest Greater Birmingham and Solihull Growth Deal following the budget.

It includes funding for new facilities for research and treatment of disease, thermal energy research, house building and investment in colleges and training courses.

Mr Javid said: "This Government is backing Greater Birmingham and Solihull with this new £54.2 million funding pot. Exciting projects to benefit include new medical research laboratories and a new centre to develop clean energy.

Sajid Javid MP
Sajid Javid MP

"This new funding will help create jobs, boost skills and give businesses support."

The funding will be channelled through the business development agency the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Chairman Steve Hollis said: "In total, the Government's investment now stands at £433 million – a real statement of confidence in our track record of delivery and ambition.

"When combined with the £1 billion of funding we are unlocking through our enterprise zone and the billions of pounds of investment in HS2, we have significant resources to deliver projects that will help support the realisation of our vision to be a global city region by 2030."

He added that the new investment would help grow the local economy by £29 billion as well as unlock the development of 1,000 new homes and create and safegaurd 2,900 jobs.

Innovation Birmingham Campus has been supported by a previous Growth Fund round
Innovation Birmingham Campus has been supported by a previous Growth Fund round

Birmigham Ciyt Council leader Coun John Clancy added: "Local Growth funding is already contributing to the construction of the National College for High Speed Rail in Birmingham, a facility which will exploit our world-class academic excellence to accelerate the development of new technology and its integration into the rail supply chain.

"This will attract significant international investment, placing Greater Birmingham at the heart of global rail transport innovation."

Earlier rounds of the growth fund supported the development of Fiarsgate Development in Lichfield city centre, supported the Hoobrook Link Road in Kidderminster and Innovation Birmingham Campus.