Local Growth Fund Newsletter - Issue 3
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Engineering is the focus of new Degree Apprenticeship Centre
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A new Degree Apprenticeship Centre focusing on engineering is to be built at the University of Warwick after receiving government funding.
The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre will focus on courses essential to the effective development of advanced engineering and manufacturing companies.
The Centre, which is due to open in 2019, is being funded by £10 million from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the CWLEP.
The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre will provide training programmes up to Level 7 (Master’s Degree level) with an initial capacity for 500 students, scaling to 1,000 students on roll at any one time. The apprentices, who will be employed by companies throughout Coventry and Warwickshire, will undertake their academic studies at the Centre, which will be on the University campus.
Work will start this summer on building the WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre which will provide flexible teaching and lab space, and an environment for technology-enhanced learning as well as advice and support for apprentices and organisations.
Jonathan Browning, chair of the CWLEP, said: “The WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre represents a significant investment in the delivery of higher-level skills to businesses and will focus on the High Value Manufacturing sector in Coventry and Warwickshire as well as meeting the needs of industry and the Government’s skills and industrial strategies.”
Caption: A CGI of the new WMG Degree Apprenticeship Centre
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Kenilworth Station officially opened
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A plaque to mark the official opening of Kenilworth Station has been officially unveiled by the Secretary of State for Transport, the Right Honourable Chris Grayling MP.
Mr Grayling was joined by the MP for Kenilworth and Southam, Rt Hon Jeremy Wright, Cllr Peter Butlin and Monica Fogarty from Warwickshire County Council and Jonathan Browning from the CWLEP to pay tribute to all of the partners in the scheme who had made it possible, with representatives from Network Rail, West Midlands Trains and West Midlands Rail all present.
After over 50 years without a station following the closure of the original building in 1965, the new Kenilworth Station has many of the aspects of the original incorporated into its design.
The project to build the station was funded by Warwickshire County Council, the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the CWLEP and from the Department for Transport’s New Stations Fund.
Jonathan Browning, chair of the CWLEP, said: “The station is already proving a very useful link between Leamington and Coventry and that will only increase as services are added and it becomes a greater part of people’s day-to-day travel.”
Caption: From the left, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Cllr Peter Butlin from Warwickshire County Council, Monica Fogarty from Warwickshire County Council, MP for Kenilworth and Southam Jeremy Wright and Jonathan Browning from the CWLEP
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Exciting plans unveiled for Coventry city centre
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An oasis of greenery and water features are at the centre of a stunning scheme to transform the Upper Precinct in Coventry city centre.
The exciting plans will involve creating large swathes of gardens, fountains and seating as part of a spectacular new public space.
The proposals to create an open pedestrian area throughout the Upper Precinct have been submitted to Coventry City Council by Shearer Property Group and a fund advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
The ambitious scheme will involve removing the existing escalator and footbridges which connect the area to West Orchards Shopping Centre and re-establish the view to Coventry Cathedral. The application also seeks permission to remove the canopy outside the former BHS building.
Street furniture will also be dismantled including part of the ramp near Ernest Jones jewellers to create an open space – similar to Broadgate – by introducing trees, plants and raised water features.
The eye-catching designs are completed by seating areas and timber terraces along with a central pedestrian area in a framed courtyard style design.
The project is being part-funded by £7.75 million from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the CWLEP as part of the overall £11.8 million scheme.
Zamurad Hussain, a board director at the CWLEP, said: “Momentum is really building in Coventry as we head towards UK City of Culture in 2021 and this is another part of the jigsaw.”
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Stratford business set to expand
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A consultancy firm that lends its expertise to help clients to improve professional and IT services is looking to expand its team and move into new territories.
Within the next 18 months, Felber Consulting in Stratford-on-Avon is looking to double the size of its team as demand for services begins to rise.
Taking advantage of this growth, the team also wants to move into other markets and take their expertise to other parts of the world – building on the strong reputation that it has created over the years.
The business is based at Venture House – Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s business centre which opened on the Avenue Farm Industrial Estate in Birmingham Road in 2016 after receiving £450,000 of funding from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the CWLEP.
Nancy Singleton, centre manager, said: “The fact that an established business such as Felber Consulting has found other benefits to working from Venture House, such as networking opportunities, also demonstrates how well this business environment works.”
Caption: Anne Solomon from Venture House with Simon Teale, founder and director of Felber Consulting
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College helping to reduce the skills gap
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Over 1,000 young people have had the opportunity to learn a new trade at an enhanced construction learning facility at Royal Leamington Spa College since it opened three years ago to address a construction industry skills gap across the region.
The Construction Training Centre, part of the Warwickshire College Group (WCG), was redesigned and expanded with new classrooms and practical workshop areas to facilitate the teaching of electrical installation and plumbing in a range of different learning routes.
The £480,000 building was partly funded with £239,000 from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the CWLEP with the remainder matched by WCG funding.
In total, over 50 construction businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire have been supported to address the recognised skills gap within their sector.
Marion Plant OBE, chair of the CWLEP’s Productivity & Skills Business Group and Principal and Chief Executive Officer of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, said: “Training young people for the construction industry is particularly vital with the number of new houses which need to be built in the region. The students who attend the Construction Centre will have an important role to play in helping to meet the Government’s housing targets.”
Caption: From the left, Mark Bonham (Assistant Principal, WCG), Anthony Freeman (graduate), Peter Husband (Group Deputy Principal, WCG) and Gemma Gathercole (Productivity and Skills Executive Officer, CWLEP)
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Green light for vital traffic improvements
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Major traffic improvements at the opposite ends of a key road network in Coventry are underway after receiving government funding.
Coventry City Council is carrying out signal upgrade works on the A45 from Bathway Road to Sir Henry Parkes Road in Canley and making changes to the A45 Pickford Way roundabout near Allesley Park.
The projects are going ahead after £950,000 funding was awarded from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the CWLEP.
Zamurad Hussain, a board director at the CWLEP, said the Local Growth Fund is government funding awarded via LEPs that benefit the local area and economy.
He said: “The investment in infrastructure is important to drive the economy forward because these projects will reduce travelling times for businesses and people commuting or visiting the area.”
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About the Local Growth Fund
Local Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone.
That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders.
Analysis has shown that every £1 of Local Growth Fund invested could generate £4.81 in benefits.
LEPs are investing in a wide range of projects informed by detailed analysis of the most pressing economic needs in each of their areas, including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences.
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Midlands Engine
The government is committed to making the Midlands an Engine for Growth in the UK, increasing economic growth and improving the quality of life for everyone. The Midlands is home to over 10 million people and over 780,000 businesses. Its economy is worth £217.7 billion.
So far the government has awarded £1.9 billion in three rounds of Growth Deals across the Midlands.
Eight Enterprise Zones have been established in the Midlands Engine since 2012, and three zones have been extended. By March 2016 these had attracted almost £1 billion of private investment, and created 85 new businesses and 7,291 jobs.
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