UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 22 NOVEMBER 2023
Birmingham City University’s considerable land assets and proven track record of collaborating with high-profile companies will be integral to a £160m Government plan to create a new Investment Zone for the West Midlands.
Announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement, the initiative is designed to drive economic growth across sites in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry by enticing businesses with one-off grants and tax incentives.
BCU will play a key role in securing investment for the Birmingham sub-zone by utilising its extensive contacts, expertise and property portfolio – and believes the project, which also involves Aston University, Birmingham City Council and Bruntwood, will be life-changing for the city’s residents.
A diverse and proactive university with a strong connection to its local community, BCU has a growing track record of investment in research, innovation, enterprise and technology.
It also continues to deliver transformative outcomes for students from some of the region’s most disadvantaged communities. Collaborating with local, national and international employers such as the NHS, GlaxoSmithKline and Jaguar Land Rover to provide valuable industrial experience, it was recently ranked the seventh in the English Higher Education Social Mobility Index.
BCU also contributes more than £500m annually to the local economy and has already injected £410m into revitalising its campus infrastructure in the city centre. This includes the iconic STEAMhouse, an award-winning production space that promotes student-business engagement through mentoring, inter-disciplinary projects and internships.
As part of the Investment Zone project, BCU will provide three key tracts of land for development.
These are:
- The vacant land adjacent to STEAMhouse and BCU’s Curzon building
- The outdoor car-parking space next to Millenium Point Car Park
- Land currently occupied next to University House in Bartholomew Row
The West Midlands Investment Zone is one of 12 across the UK to benefit from a package of one-off grants and tax incentives to attract investment and create new jobs.
It will focus on advanced manufacturing across Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry, with expectations that it will help to leverage £2bn in private investment and create 30,000 jobs by 2034.
Each zone will be required to focus on at least one of the Government’s five priority sectors: digital and tech, green industries, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries.
Investment zones in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Liverpool had already been announced prior to the Treasury’s statement on Wednesday.