The Government is being asked to support a visionary plan to develop the A50/A500 route into a green Growth Corridor delivering more than 5,000 jobs.
Representatives from Staffordshire County Council and Keele University visited Downing Street to ask for £3 million support for the scheme.
The Fifty500 Midlands Growth Corridor project seeks to create highly skilled jobs and better transport links along the strategic west-east artery between Crewe and Nottingham.
Led and developed by Staffordshire County Council, the aim to create a primary location for sustainable growth and investment builds on and amplifies the business case that Midlands Connect is preparing for road investment in the region.
Developed with partners and based on consultations with local businesses and Universities on the route, the plan includes six investment priorities around green growth:
An Innovation Factory
Based on the success of Keele University’s Science and Innovation Park
Road to Rail Freight
Development of the Midlands rail freight “Golden Triangle”
Smart Factories
A Hydrogen Innovation Zone
Creation of a Zero Emission Innovation Valley, potentially extending the University of Nottingham’s East Midlands Hydrogen Innovation Zone to a location in Stoke-on-Trent
A Midlands Industrial Energy Plan
Enabling all industry to have a clean energy supply
A Regional Supplier Park
A shared facility for firms to deliver just-in-time
Staffordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader, Philip White, said: “Our visit to Downing Street is a major milestone in our work to develop the Fifty500 Midlands Growth Corridor.
“If this bid is successful, together with our partners, we can continue our work to develop business cases around the corridor for new investments that will support our innovative and high growth businesses to create thousands of skilled jobs and generate an additional £100 million for the local economy.
“This initiative has the potential to deliver on the Government’s aims of levelling up and decarbonising industry and transport whilst increasing productivity and employment in Staffordshire.
“With the support of major businesses, academic institutions and local authorities along this route, I firmly believe our proposal has every chance of success.”
The delegation to Downing Street was headed up by Philip White and Keele University’s Director of Engagement & Partnerships Ann Pittard. It will be revealed if the bid has been successful in the Spring budget announcements on 6 March.
