Chancellor awards billions to Midlands in Budget

Towns and cities across the Midlands will benefit from billions of pounds of investment as announced in the autumn Budget by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

In addition to other spending commitments on areas such as infrastructure, job creation and digital connectivity, the Midlands was awarded nearly £400m for 21 local projects to improve quality of life from the new Levelling Up Fund.

Projects that will receive a cash injection include a new science centre at Twycross, the City Learning Quarter in Wolverhampton and a Pioneer Park in Leicester which supports our region’s fast-growing space and satellite technology sector.

The full list of funded projects in the Midlands, as published by the Treasury includes:

• Establishing a new science centre at Twycross Zoo (Leicestershire)
• Revitalising Leicester Railway Station
• Completing the Southern Link Road between Farndon and Balderton (Nottinghamshire)
• Transforming the dilapidated Pilot House in Leicester into high-quality accommodation
• Remodelling Stephenson Memorial Hall in Chesterfield (Derbyshire)
• Repairing streets across Nottingham
• Developing Pioneer Park in Leicester which supports a fast-growing space and satellite technology sector
• Regenerating the Goods Yard in Stoke-on-Trent
• Improving the A457 Dudley Road in Birmingham
• Developing a City Learning Quarter in Wolverhampton
• Improving the Canal Towpath in Kidderminster (Worcestershire)
• Regenerating the Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham
• Refurbishing the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cannock (Staffordshire)
• Building a Physical Activity Hub in Bedworth (Warwickshire)
• Redeveloping three sites across Stoke-on-Trent, creating over 200 new homes and over 160 square metres of community space
• Remediating 20 hectares of unusable land in East Birmingham and North Solihull

In addition, the Midlands will also benefit from £612m for local roads maintenance and £115m for smaller transport improvement priorities as part of the Integrated Transport Block.

Leicester (£40m) and Stoke-on-Trent (£35m) will each benefit from substantial funding from the Transforming Cities fund whilst £2.5m has been allocated from the Brownfield Land Release Fund to sites in the Midlands.

There were also individual awards for the National Forest (£7m), Coventry as part of its Capital of Culture (£2.6m) and Leicester which will support the purchase of 96 zero-emission buses whilst the Hub Community Centre and Café in Thurnby, Leicestershire will benefit from £250,000 allocated from the Community Ownership Fund.

Our region will also benefit from shares of national pots including £2.6 billion from the Shared Prosperity Fund, £5 billion from Project Gigabit, £560m from the Youth Investment Fund and National Citizen Service, and £2.6 billion for local road upgrades such as the North Hykeham Relief Road in Lincolnshire and the A4123 Birchley Island in Sandwell.

Finally, the West Midlands will receive a share of £24 billion for strategic road upgrades including key junctions in Coventry and at Birmingham Airport plus, £1 billion for schemes such as completing the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension and Sprint Phase 2.

For the latest from our region, subscribe to Midlands Matters, the official newsletter of the Midlands Engine.