Government Regional Investment Summit cements transformative bold vision for city

And Cllr Cotton says the council will step-up work with the Government, investors, and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker to cement Birmingham's burgeoning reputation as a city at the heart of the UK growth agenda.

Government ministers, global investors and officials poured into Birmingham for the first Regional Investment Summit outside of London earlier this week, marking a huge surge in confidence in the city’s future with billions of pounds worth of investment announced.

Key Birmingham announcements and projects showcased at the Investment Summit included:

• a £400m investment to power Birmingham’s £4bn Knowledge Quarter innovation superhub through a partnership with developers Woodbourne Group and Hines.
• Moving forward with the Sports Quarter, a £3 billion programme, with the announcement of the stadium architects as Heatherwick Studio and MANICA.
• Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Combined Authority will progress the proposition for the country’s largest and most ambitious Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) within a new Mayoral Development Zone.
• The MDC will bring together planning powers, funding and delivery under one roof - speeding up project times by cutting red tape. The West Midlands Investment Prospects sets out the ambition.
• The Warwick Bar Prospectus, outlining the next phase of Digbeth's regeneration, which will include 110,000 sq ft of creative workspace, along with the building of 1,700 homes.
• Production Central WM - a new film production office to connect producers with the set locations, local crew and suppliers needed to bring more big and small screen blockbusters to the region.
• Advancing the Ladywood regeneration with £2.5bn of investment in a partnership between Birmingham City Council and Berkeley St Joseph to deliver 12,000 homes and progress on the Druids Heath housing programme with planning permission consent for the 3,500 homes.

Cllr Cotton said: "The Regional Investment Summit brilliantly showcased the wealth of opportunities and the huge potential for economic growth here in Birmingham and that means more jobs, opportunities and prosperity for our citizens.

"The Chancellor was clear that the Government will work with us to bring growth and prosperity to Birmingham and the wider West Midlands and the very fact that we were chosen to be the first city outside London to host the event speaks volumes.

"Birmingham is home to some of the most significant regeneration schemes in the UK and the Investment Summit showed that we're at the very heart of growing key sectors like life sciences, the creative industries, advanced manufacturing, and green energy.

"This is just the start, and we will continue working with the Government, investors and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker to create jobs, opportunities and prosperity for every neighbourhood and community in Birmingham."

Background notes to editors:

Digbeth:

• The newly launched Warwick Bar Prospectus sets a blueprint for the construction of up to 1,700 high-quality homes and 110,000sq ft of new creative workspaces on a mostly derelict site the size of 22 football pitches in a part of Digbeth.
• The Warwick Bar Prospectus has been drawn up by the site’s owner, Homes England, in partnership with Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC).
• Warwick Bar is the UK’s largest untapped regeneration site directly adjacent to HS2. The site sits within Digbeth, a cultural and creative hub in the city. Digbeth will become a centre for TV and film production, fuelled by the BBC's new broadcast centre and MasterChef studios.
• The opening of Production Central WM at Digbeth Loc - a new film production office to connect producers with the set locations, local crew and suppliers needed to bring more big and small screen blockbusters to the region from big entertainment industry names like the BBC, Netflix and Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders and House of Guinness.
• Nearby, the BBC is converting a derelict, 100-year-old building into its new Tea Factory broadcasting centre, with the corporation’s investment on track to generate £282m of economic benefit in the region by 2031.
• Other popular shows like MasterChef, Late Night Lycett, Silent Witness, Policing Paradise and Garden Rescue are also being produced in Digbeth and the neighbourhood boasts several creative hubs such as the Banana Warehouse, Grand Union at Junction Works and The Bond.
• The new film office will increase regional GVA by £100 - £200 million over the next five years and provide a boost to employment of 100-200 jobs per production and 1,000 - 2,000 long-term posts.

1. Digbeth is a key site in the delivery of Our Future City: Central Birmingham Framework 2045.
2. Digbeth has been the focus of widespread regeneration and investment in recent years driven in part by the nearby HS2 Curzon Street Station site, the forthcoming Metro tram route and the thriving cluster of creative businesses at the Custard Factory.

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