West Midlands secures £51m to transform derelict sites

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been awarded more than £51m to regenerate sites in the region, including the former MG Rover plant at Longbridge.

A total of £24m from the government’s £40m National Brownfield Housing Fund has been won by the WMCA as part of a competition involving eight of the nation’s combined authorities.

The government has also confirmed that the region’s strong performance over recent months in delivering new homes and jobs both at scale and pace meant it was handing over a further £27m from the Land Fund agreed in the region’s landmark 2018 Housing Deal.

‘That we’ve managed to secure more than half of the National Brownfield Housing Fund that was designed to be for eight combined authorities across the country shows the strength of our bid, our excellent delivery record, and our expertise in unlocking challenging sites,’ said West Midlands mayor, Andy Street.

‘The £24m comes on top of the £27m we have also been awarded as part of the latest payment from our 2018 Land Fund, meaning the West Midlands received £51m of the £67m announced by the government. This shows how supportive the government is of our work as we look to continue to regenerate old derelict industrial land – such as the former MG Rover site in Longbridge.

‘With a further £60m of already-announced housing money also confirmed to be on its way to the West Midlands in the coming weeks, the New Year has the potential to be a very good one for our future housing plans. We must keep up the momentum as housebuilding and brownfield land remediation will have a key part to play in our economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.’

Photo Credit – West Midlands Combined Authority