I54 expansion plans to create up to 1,700 jobs
PLANS to expand a major business park and create 1,700 jobs are set to be given the green light.
Proposals to extend the i54 business park, off the M54 near Wolverhampton, could offer the Midlands economy a major boost.
The plans, which are expected to be given the go-ahead, will create the opportunity for at least 1,300 and as many as 1,667 jobs.
The site is home to Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced engine factory as well as companies like Moog Aircraft Group and ISP Printers. A report ahead of a South Staffordshire County Council planning meeting next week states: “The proposal forms part of the western extension to i54 that was removed from the green belt and allocated though the council’s ‘Site Allocation Document’.
“As such the principle of the development has been established.”
The proposals focus on work to the west of the i54 South Staffordshire development.
Applicants City of Wolverhampton Council, Staffordshire County Council and Midlands Land Portfolio are seeking permission from South Staffordshire Council for the develop- ment. It will go before the planning committee next Tuesday, January 15 and, if approved, 1,750 car parking spaces will also be created.
The applicants said in a statement : “The existing i54 strategic employment area is generally regarded as a success, not only in meeting its economic objectives to attract high quality advanced manufacturing development, but also in environmental terms.
“It comprises good quality building decisions set in an attractive landscape that retains and enhances key economic assets.
“The current proposals for the western extension to the i54 development seek to follow similar design principals and standards to satisfactorily integrate the new development with the existing.”