Is it time for co-ordinated action in North Solihull, for far too long it has been the poor relation of the Borough of Solihull.
When we think of Solihull and the majority of people who do not live there will probably think of its upmarket housing in leafy suburbs, good schools and first-class shopping. Well that is only part of the story, the other side to the borough has the one of the largest unemployement records in the country and it is this area that would make an ideal candidate for a dedicated Urban Development Corporation to help to drive change, at a far quicker pace thus far and to take responsibility for its strategic development.
North Solihull is how the areas of Chelmsley Wood, Smiths Wood, Fordbridge and Kingshurst are now branded. They are increasingly coming under the eye of both politicians and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council alike and not before time. Chelmsley Wood itself is part of the wider regeneration of North Solihull, a partnership between Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and the private sector. It has been estimated that something like £1.8 billion will be invested over the next 15 years. Plans are currently underway to carry out the largest renovation of older parts of the town since the demolition of many tower blocks in the early 1990s.
The current plans are changing the central shopping centre area, which includes the construction of a large supermarket. Both Advantage West Midlands and Fordgate should be congratulated on investing some £41 million in its redevelopment and overhaul. It seems that in addition to these works, the library and surrounding buildings are to be renovated as well, although how you renovate a concrete carbuncle still remains to be seen!
All this is very positive for this part of the borough, albeit with a large caveat.
If this investment is to be forthcoming, we must hope that the infrastructure is going to be improved along the way to ensure that the investments that are being made are both worthwhile and sustainable in the long term.
We all recognise that the M6, M5, M40 and M42 provide excellent communication links in and, around Birmingham, as well as links to various parts of the country. What this area desperately needs is significant investment in creating links to this major arterial road network in order to open up the area and justify the long term investment for which it has been earmarked. Once these works have been put into place then the real opportunity to bring jobs in the form of new industry and the like will become a reality. Sceptics may say that this can never happen, but for evidence of this approach working, you only need to look at what the Black Country Development Corporation did over there, during a 10 to 15-year period and how it changed that area. Let us also not forget what Heartlands Development Corporation managed to achieve with its much more limited resources in the area around parts of Bromford, which happens to be adjacent to North Solihull. The point here is that both of these areas have seen a lot of change over the period. There is then no reason why this cannot happen here in North Solihull as well.
To take the Black Country example, the decision to commit to a new spine road linking the various towns and development sites so they could have quick access to the motorway network was a key factor in its success. It required the full range of planning legislation and a strategic overview that ignored some of the more petty objections to achieve this, coupled with a sustainable budget to do this. Such investments do not come cheap but the danger of not committing the sums required to the infrastructure means that the entire strategic objectives never moves into a proper stride. This is where central government and inparticular the Treasury can help. This can be in the form of such as Rates holidays, special dispensation on capital allowances and tax incentives should come into play to here to not only help to create jobs but keep those jobs by allowing businesses to re-tool and develop new technologies to compete with and in Europe. This is where I often feel that those in power often talk a good game but to be honest, actually do not understand what is really needed.
Central government has for some time coined the phrase “Joined-up Thinking” which is great but to deliver those aims and asperations that come about as a result of this “thinking” requires centeral government to embrace my phrase of “Joined-up Funding” as well.
Wealth creation means jobs and these usually require some form of manufacturing, which means creating products that can be exported. This brings a cash injection into the economy. With interest rates at historically low levels and exchange rates so low, coupled with flexible working practices and a real ‘can-do’ attitude, there is a fantastic opportunity to see North Solihull develop and take its place in the Midlands economy.
