West Midlands mayor Richard Parker speaks at the Regional Investment Summit at Edgbaston Stadium, in Birmingham

Express & Star

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker speaks at the Regional Investment Summit at Edgbaston Stadium, in Birmingham. Video: PA

Transcript

00:00Good morning, and welcome to the West Midlands and to Birmingham.

00:16250 years ago, under the light of the full moon, a small group of men gathered here.

00:23Bolton, Watt, Wedgwood, Darwin.

00:27The Lunar Society.

00:30Named as such because they met by moonlight as the roads were dark.

00:35But in truth, it wasn't the road they were lighting, it was the future.

00:41Around their tables, science met business and curiosity met capital.

00:48They shared knowledge, they took risks and built the partnerships that powered the Industrial Revolution.

00:54And made this region its beating heart.

00:58They knew progress is never a solar act.

01:02It happens when visionaries and investors, entrepreneurs and institutions work together for something greater.

01:09A century later, that spirit lived on in Joseph Chamberlain, Birmingham's great reforming mayor.

01:17First great reforming mayor.

01:19Chamberlain said the town is the people.

01:23He brought gas and water under civic control, cleared slums, built schools, and most importantly, created pride in place.

01:31He showed that business confidence follows civic leadership, and that industry grows when communities thrive.

01:41Because when government and business work together, we build more than profit, we build purpose.

01:47And we stand again at a very important turning point.

01:51The challenges may be different, but the principle is still the same.

01:55Progress depends on collaboration, and it depends on partnership.

02:00The West Midlands is the world's original industrial cluster.

02:04Britain's success depends on the Midlands' success.

02:09We remain the nation's economic pulse.

02:12So that's why we're gathering here today.

02:15Bringing together our thinkers, our builders, our investors, and our innovators once more.

02:21So I'd ask you all to see the value of being here today, and ask yourselves a really important question.

02:28What can we build together that none of us could build alone?

02:33You wouldn't be here if you didn't believe in partnership.

02:37And now is the moment to turn that belief into action.

02:42And we're playing our part too.

02:44Today we announced almost 20 billion of investment opportunities here in the West Midlands.

02:49And just as roads and canals powered our first industrial revolution,

02:54we're also investing in the infrastructure to drive the next one.

02:592.4 billion pounds of capital investment in transport in this region alone.

03:04A new metro through East Birmingham and North Sully Hull, linking our two new HS2 stations,

03:09including at Arden Cross in Sully Hull, a 3 billion pound project that will create thousands of homes

03:15and a new university health tech campus.

03:17And thanks to HS2, this region will be just 38 minutes from central London.

03:23And on my reckoning, that's about zone 5 on the tube map.

03:27But right beneath our station, our HS2 station in Digbooth,

03:33lies a fantastic creative quarter,

03:37which Sunday Times described as the coolest district in the country.

03:41And it's now more than a fast-growing creative quarter,

03:45it's full of fantastic, investable opportunities.

03:49It's home to Digbooth Lock Studios, founded by the Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight,

03:55a fantastic ambassador for this region,

03:57and now the writer of the next James Bond movie.

04:00And of course, Bond Drives and Aston Martin, and they're built right here in the West Midlands too.

04:06Built, in fact, next door to the Coventry and Moorickshire Green Power Park,

04:10a huge investment opportunity with global battery manufacturing potential.

04:16Building on the region's automotive heritage as it does,

04:19and that heritage includes Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce.

04:25In the north of the region, we have the Black Country,

04:28where we have a fantastic green innovation corridor driving clean growth.

04:32And in Wolverhampton, thousands of new homes and businesses are transforming the city centre,

04:38bringing 11,000 new residents in, increasing football and supporting sustainable growth.

04:45In Dudley, the new metro will connect Braleigh Hill,

04:49with Birmingham and Wolverhampton opening up the town centre to fresh investment and new homes.

04:55And in Walsall, a £1.5 billion regeneration is transforming the town centre and its connections,

05:02including a £40 million transport hub with improvements to Junction 10 of the M6.

05:08And those improvements would unlock new jobs at Spark, our new logistics and manufacturing hub.

05:15And very soon, you'll hear about Birmingham Sports Quarter.

05:19A once-in-a-generation opportunity to regenerate one of the most deprived areas in the UK

05:25through sport, through entertainment, and the creation of a new community.

05:31All of this investment potential not only matches our proud heritage, but shows we're ready to surpass it.

05:40This is a region that just doesn't wait for permission.

05:44We take action, we take responsibility, and we deliver.

05:47We've now built one of the strongest evolved institutions in the country.

05:54We have the sights, we have the skills, and we now have the leadership and the partnerships to get things done.

06:00We're already home to world-class universities, advanced manufacturers, and a thriving creative economy.

06:08We have the youngest and most diverse population in Europe, and we're using the powers we have,

06:15and we're pushing for more, to make this the easiest place in Britain to invest, to build, and to grow.

06:22The Lunar Society lit the way once before.

06:28Chamberlain built our civic institutions.

06:31Now, it's our turn to write the next chapter of the story.

06:35It starts here in the West Midlands.

06:38And on that note, I'd like to welcome the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Carl.

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