A rail project expected to improve connectivity in the Midlands including better links for Lichfield and Tamworth has won backing from the government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced yesterday that the government is funding the Midlands Rail Hub, a £1.75 billion blueprint for faster, better and more frequent connections.
The news came as she delivered her Comprehensive Spending Review, which outlines how much day-to-day funding government departments will get over the next three years.
Funding boosts have been set out for areas including education, defence, housing, the NHS and artificial intelligence.
Speaking at the dispatch box, Rachel Reeves, said: “I am providing funding for the Midlands Rail Hub, the region’s biggest and most ambitious rail improvement scheme for generations, strengthening connections from Birmingham across the West Midlands and into Wales too.”
Maria Machancoses, Chief Executive of Midlands Connect, a co-sponsor of the hub, said: “This marks a major milestone in this transformational, nationally significant project.
“It will deliver a step change for passengers, for communities and ultimately for Government’s central mission of economic growth. In this region, we need improved transport connections, and Midlands Rail Hub will help make that happen.”
Dave Robertson, MP for Lichfield, Burntwood and the Villages, added: “It’s a massive project right across the region that will deliver more trains from Lichfield to Birmingham and a more reliable service. But most importantly, it will help us secure jobs and opportunities for people right across our constituency.”
Meanwhile Burntwood-based developer Keon Homes has welcomed the government announcing £39 billion of funding for social housing.
The company is currently working on more than 10 sites across the region and recently started work on its 1,200th property in just six years.
Partnerships Director Matt Beckley said: “We have been asking for a longer-term approach to the housing crisis and this announcement today has answered our call to action.
“Extending the Affordable Housing Programme to 10 years provides real certainty and a £1.4 billion annual increase on spend, which should be immediately used to unlock land and bring developments to market quicker.
“As a developer who prides itself on brownfield first, we will work with our housing association partners to identify new sites that we can build out with high quality, energy efficient housing that gives individuals and families not only homes, but new communities to live in.
“The additional spending will not come without its challenges, however. There is still a major skills gap in our sector, so some of that money needs to be channelled into developing training programmes that can attract and upskill people to work in construction.”
Also announced was news that Stoke-on-Trent will receive up to £20 million to transform Bentilee and Ubberley after being chosen as one of only 25 “trailblazer” neighbourhoods across the UK to receive the funds.
This is expected to have a knock-on effect on contractors and the local economy and has been described by Stoke-on-Trent City Council Leader Councillor Jane Ashworth as ‘a truly transformational sum of money which will make a real difference to people’s lives for decades to come.’
Read more Daily Focus stories about the Midlands Rail Hub here.
