Invest Staffordshire has been formally announced by Staffordshire County Council and its partners at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF).
Invest Staffordshire will support a county-wide coordinated approach to attract investment and drive economic growth by working with the public and private sector to strengthen partnerships and bring forward strategic developments and programmes which will retain and crucially create skilled jobs for local people.
Staffordshire is actively promoting its key strategic investment sites and opportunities to investors, developers and businesses, with a strong focus on schemes that align with its natural strengths in logistics, manufacturing and defence.
Invest Staffordshire’s remit will cover major placemaking and transformative schemes for Staffordshire working with project teams across the county, including partnerships that are leading projects including the landmark Fifty500 and The Central Edge economic growth zone.
Fifty500, the 90km Midlands Growth Corridor, features £1.5 billion of opportunities, which plan to transform the area into one of the UK’s primary locations for investment, manufacturing and growth. Meanwhile, Central Edge, the geographical corridor area that is home to major strategic developments including i54, West Midlands Interchange and ROF Featherstone, and represents a hub for unlocking innovative investment and employment at scale.
Positioned within the UK’s logistics ‘golden triangle’, Staffordshire also benefits from a location at the heart of three of the nation’s largest population centres – Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.
Within a 45-minute drive of Staffordshire there is a skilled workforce of four million people and 15 universities, with the region already having strengths in tech, health and manufacturing. It is increasingly popular with for investment and businesses due to its cost effectiveness, in relation to living expenses and average office and industrial space costs.
Invest Staffordshire will also be promoting major opportunities for developments which are set to transform areas across the county.
It will be working closely with district, borough and city councils in Staffordshire, including East Staffordshire Borough Council, Lichfield District Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, South Staffordshire District Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. A close working partnership with Stoke on Trent City Council will also be a key driver.
Invest Staffordshire will be seeking to attract investment to schemes including a new regeneration project in the Gungate Quarter of Tamworth, the redevelopment of Guildhall Shopping Centre in Cannock Town Centre and opportunities with Keele University.
There will also be focus on a first in Europe example of redevelopment in Newcastle-under-Lyme, high street projects in East Staffordshire and updates on the Birmingham Road redevelopment site in Lichfield.
Invest Staffordshire is part of Staffordshire County Council which brings together the county’s inward investment and visitor economy functions under one strategic programme.
Martin Murray, Staffordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said: “For a county the size of Staffordshire it is crucial we have a joined-up and targeted approach to attracting investment and encouraging local scale-up support. Invest Staffordshire is designed to do exactly that.
“By attracting investment, we can retain, reinforce and create local jobs for local people and really tap into Staffordshire’s potential.
“Invest Staffordshire will act as a single point of entry for business investors, developers and agents to explore the full range of opportunities we offer and benefit from our wrap-around services.”
To find out more about Invest Staffordshire visit www.investstaffordshire.com
