Why are we all fighting to get Jaguar Land Rover to locate its new engine factory on the i54 business park? Well the 1,000 jobs that it will create is one of the obvious answers but it is so much more than that. This investment would be a massive boost to the economy of not just South Staffordshire and Wolverhampton but the whole of Britain.
When I have spoken with Ministers, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and for that matter anyone who can make a difference on this decision, the business logic for Jaguar Land Rover locating its engine plant on the i54 is overwhelming.
Firstly you have the logistics. If Jaguar Land Rover locate at the i54 they have an engine plant right between their main factories. The i54 is just 40 minutes from Castle Bromwich and Solihull to the South and 1½ hours from the Halewood to the North in Merseyside. With access right onto the M54 and the M6 this is absolutely vital, especially in today’s manufacturing climate when everything has to arrive just in time. None of the other sites can compete on this.
Secondly you have infrastructure. Not only is the i54 an excellent site that has already seen world leading aircraft component manufacturer MOOG invest millions to locate there, but it is what surrounds it. The Black Country and the West Midlands boast some of the worlds leading automotive component suppliers. Businesses that do not just supply UK based companies but car companies the world over. This supply chain that is based locally will be a major bonus to a company such as Jaguar Land Rover, meaning it will not only have one of the finest industrial parks to base itself on but the support in terms of local businesses within easy reach.
Finally and most importantly is the issue of the workforce. As someone who before becoming an MP used to run a factory, I know that without the right people you don’t have a decent factory or a decent business. Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Staffordshire can provide a skill base and a workforce that is unrivalled. I appreciate that it is a few years since Sunbeams were produced in Wolverhampton but precision, high tech manufacturing has continued to flourish in the area whether in automotive or aerospace component manufacture, skills than can and will be easily transferred. This is supplemented with many excellent local schools with the local Codsall High School for example being ranked as one of the top science schools in the whole country.
It is often said that when buying a house it is location, location, location. When deciding where to build a major engine factory it is all about location, infrastructure and skills these are all things that the i54 can provide Jaguar Land Rover in bucket loads. I will continue to fight to get Jaguar Land Rover to locate here as the opportunity that it will provide to so many is vast. It will be another important step in rebalancing our economy away from being such a service and banking led economy and getting Britain making things again, something that I believe is long overdue.