10/09/2012
Excellent progress is continuing to be made on construction work at a major regional business and innovation hub.
i54 South Staffordshire was selected by leading automotive firm Jaguar Land Rover as its base for a new advanced engine plant with other global businesses also choosing it as their base. Jaguar Land Rover is investing £355 million in its new facility and will create 750 jobs on site. Many more advanced manufacturing companies are expected to follow. Moog (which manufactures products for the commercial aircraft industry) and Eurofins UK (a leading scientific testing and analysis company) are already up and running on site.
Today (Wednesday August 29) leaders from Staffordshire County Council, Wolverhampton City Council and South Staffordshire Council toured the site to see how construction work is progressing. i54 South Staffordshire will greatly enhance the prospects for the area, creating jobs and attracting millions of pounds’ worth of investment.
The three councils are working in partnership to develop the site. As a result of this, a new local access bridge across the M54 is currently being built. Also, construction on a dedicated motorway junction for the site on to the M54, is set to begin in October. It will be the biggest highways construction project the county council has carried out and a unique scheme for a highways authority, which does not usually invest in motorway related projects.
A significant part of the i54 South Staffordshire site is occupied. The remaining plots are being actively marketed to advanced manufacturing businesses together with offices, hotel/leisure and other suitable uses. Remaining plots could be split or grouped according to the types of business locating there.
Staffordshire County Council’s leader Philip Atkins said: “It is great to see the construction work at Jaguar Land Rover’s i54 South Staffordshire plant underway along with our continued infrastructure work.
“Last year we worked hard at Staffordshire County Council with colleagues at Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire councils to ensure we had done all we could to attract Jaguar Land Rover and other global firms like Moog and Eurofins UK to this site.
“It is rewarding to see it as an active location for leading business and job creation. We can now see our vision for i54 South Staffordshire being fulfilled. Our next big job is to construct the new slip road off junction 2 of the M54 which is a significant project.”
Councillor Peter Bilson, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Prosperity, said: “The site has already seen significant investment from major international companies that will create thousands of jobs both on the site and further along the manufacturing supply chain.
“We are currently marketing the site so that we can build on this to attract even more investment and create greater opportunities for local people.
“Our work with Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council is an example of excellent partnership working to provide a host of benefits for our areas.”
Councillor Brian Edwards, Leader of South Staffordshire Council said: “i54 South Staffordshire is one of the most significant and important economic developments seen in this region for a generation and it’s wonderful to see the public sector working together with the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Moog and Eurofins to help turn our common vision for the site into the flagship technology powerhouse which will be the focal point of our local economy for many years to come.”
Moog’s new base on i54 is already manufacturing products for its global customer base. The official opening of the new centre is on September 24; with a family open day taking place on September 22.