The Chancellor has announce that working people in the West Midlands will benefit from multi-billion-pound investment in local transport.
This forms part of the biggest ever investment in buses, trams and local train infrastructure in city regions as she promises the renewal of Britain to make all parts of the country better off. The funding will enable the Mayor of the West Midlands to build a crucial metro extension to Birmingham’s sports quarter, making a start on his ambitions to deliver mass transit from East Birmingham to North Solihull.
In a speech in Greater Manchester, Reeves is expected to say that “a Britain that is better off cannot rely on a handful of places forging ahead of the rest of the country,” adding that “result of such thinking has been growth created in too few places, felt by too few people and wide gaps between regions, and between our cities and towns.” Reeves will say the spending review next week will take different choices, with investment in a “new economic model – driven by investment in all parts of the country, not just a few.”
She will unveil the first investment announcements from the spending review, with a £15.6 billion of funding for local transport projects in England’s city regions – including South Yorkshire, North East, East Midlands and Tees Valley. The funding – a more than double real-terms increase in capital spending on local transport in city regions by 2029/30 compared with 2024/25 - will empower local leaders to invest in transport projects that will make a difference to their local area.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander (pic), said: “Today marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the North and Midlands – opening up access to jobs, growing the economy and driving up quality of life as we deliver our Plan for Change.
"For too long, people in the North and Midlands have been locked out of the investment they deserve. With £15.6bn of Government investment, we're giving local leaders the means to drive cities, towns and communities forward, investing in Britain’s renewal so you and your family are better off." Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This funding means we can now deliver a new Metro line to the Sports Quarter - connecting it to Birmingham City Centre and unlocking one of the most significant private investments our region has ever seen.
“But this is just the beginning. This investment also unlocks a nationally significant infrastructure project that will transform East Birmingham and North Solihull into one of the UK’s key growth corridors - driving thousands of new homes and jobs and bringing opportunity to communities that have been held back for too long.”
Tom Wagner, Chair of Birmingham City FC & Co-founder, Knighthead Capita, said: “The Chancellor’s commitment to upgrade transport links in East Birmingham is a huge step forward for the Sports Quarter.
“It gives us the springboard we need to advance this transformative project at pace, bringing huge benefits to the people of East Birmingham and the wider region in the shape of jobs and opportunities, as well as economic growth that will be felt across the whole of the UK.” This long-overdue investment outside of London and the South East will see projects like the Metro extension linking Washington to Newcastle and Sunderland and £530m to renew South Yorkshire’s tram network linking employment and housing areas in Sheffield and Rotherham - creating jobs, better commutes, bigger labour markets and more opportunity.
The game-changing funding comes ahead of next week’s Spending Review when the Chancellor will set out how this government is investing in the country’s future and the priorities of working people to make every part of Britain better off. It will also allow the Mayor of Greater Manchester to transform the Metrolink tram network, with new stops in Bury, north Manchester and Oldham and a Metrolink extension to Stockport town centre.
The Chancellor is also expected to confirm “a step change in how government approaches and evaluates the case for investing in our regions” following a review of the Treasury’s Green Book and how it is used, “to make sure that this government gives every region a fair hearing when it comes to investments”. The full conclusions of the Green Book review will be published on June 11, alongside the wider Spending Review.
