Sir John Peace has been appointed by the government as chairman of the Midlands Engine initiative.
The Burberry Group and Standard Chartered chairman will head the partnership, which has been created to boost the Midlands’ economy by £34bn over the next 14 years.
He takes over the role from interim chairman David Frost and will also continue with his role as chairman of transport strategy Midlands Connect, which aims to improve connectivity across the region.
Peace said: “The Midlands Engine is a compelling opportunity to better represent the Midlands region, attract significant new investment and create more jobs.
“A huge amount of work has already been done by stakeholders from both the private and public sectors with the aim of growing the wider Midlands economy, and as the newly appointed chairman I will do my best to make this very exciting vision become a reality.”
Plans for the Midlands Engine were first announced by prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne last December.
The Midlands Engine plan aims to raise the long-term growth rate of the Midlands to at least the forecast long-term growth rate of the whole UK.
Highlights of the plan include:
- £5.2bn of investment into new transport infrastructure in the Midlands, upgrading the motorways, delivering faster north-south rail connections and east-west links, and making the most of the economic opportunities of HS2.
- Birmingham Curzon Urban Regeneration Company has produced a dedicated HS2 Growth Strategy setting out the jobs and growth that HS2 will unlock. The company leads the development of more than 346 acres (140ha) of land around Curzon Street where the new HS2 station will be located in the heart of Birmingham city centre. The redevelopment could create 6.5m sq ft of new employment space and 4,000 homes, contributing up to £1.3bn a year to the local economy.
- Solihull will also produce an HS2 Growth Strategy for the new HS2 Interchange Station to the east of Birmingham near the NEC and Birmingham Airport setting out a vision for UK Central to maximise the potential of the major new rail gateway to the north of England.
- A new National College for High Speed Rail is under construction located in Birmingham’s city centre Science Park, with another site in Doncaster.
Skills, housing, science and innovation are also at the heart of the plan which sees power devolved from Whitehall to local authorities and local enterprise partnerships in the Midlands.
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