Chambers of Commerce in the West Midlands have welcomed the funding boost from the Regional Growth Fund.
A total of 19 bids for funding were accepted in the region – including from the Birmingham Post – and the money has been welcomed as “good news” for the private sector.
The bids, which have also come from the likes of LNX Distribution, Zytek Automotive and Aeromet International, will create 3,900 direct jobs in the West Midlands, with 29,800 indirect jobs.
Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group said while additional funding is welcome; we must invest in infrastructure like HS2, roads and rail.
He said: “The Government must also look at introducing incentives to encourage employers to create jobs such as tax breaks to engender investment.
“The regional growth fund is only a very small part of the growth picture and initiatives which include smarter regulations such as speedier planning processes must be a priority.”
He added: “It is also important to ensure that regional growth funds get disbursed quickly.”
Across the UK, the Government is to invest £950 million to support growth in a move which will create or safeguard more than 200,000 jobs across England.
The second round of the Government’s £1.4 billion regional growth fund will support 119 bids from businesses and local partnerships with projects to expand their operations, create new jobs and attract private investment.
The projects will directly create around 37,000 jobs, while 164,000 more will be created or protected in the supply chain, he said.
The Government investment is expected to support nearly £6 billion of private investment in the successful projects.
Denys Shortt, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire, said: “The Regional Growth Fund announcement is good news for Coventry and Warwickshire. Details are still emerging but we have Elonex and Alamo in the county, while MIRA is in the very north of our area and will have a direct impact on the supply chain in Coventry and Warwickshire.
“The bid with which we were directly involved – the Advanced Engineering (AE) Supply Chain Investment – has been designed to boost cross-border economic growth for companies particularly in the automotive and aerospace industries, with the specific aim of boosting economic growth.
"Our High Value Manufacturing Focus Group has worked very hard on this bid – along with partners – so this news is very welcome.
“We hope that several other projects will have backing going forward.”
