Businesses urged to have their say on Midlands Rail Hub

May 10, 2023

Midlands Connect have launched an online business survey and are urging firms to ‘make their voices heard’ over plans for the flagship rail improvement project the Midlands Rail Hub.

We are urging local businesses throughout the route to complete a short survey, which will support our future strategy along this route.

This survey will close on Friday 16th June, with results to be announced soon after.

Click here to take the survey, which will take just a few minutes to complete.

Midlands Rail Hub is Midland’s Connect biggest and most ambitious rail improvement scheme – a £900m – £1.5bn blueprint for faster, better and more frequent connections across the Midlands.

Passenger rail usage in the Midlands is growing faster than anywhere else in the UK, but without investment, the region’s rail network can’t keep pace with this record demand, and many services remain slow and infrequent.  The scheme will add more than 14 million more seats on the rail network each year and provide faster, more frequent or new rail links for over 30 locations including: Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Worcester, Hereford, Cardiff, Bristol, Cheltenham and Leicester. It will also bring 1.6 million more people to within an hour of the region’s biggest towns and cities by public transport.

The Midlands Rail Hub proposes building two ‘chords’ as well as 11 further engineering interventions throughout the region to deliver a massive step change in rail transport in the Midlands. The project will also maximise the benefits of HS2 and safeguard 1,600 jobs in the engineering and construction sector.

Commenting on the survey’s release, Midlands Connect Senior Rail Programme Manager Andy Clark said:

“We are calling on employers and businesses throughout the Midlands to get involved in our online consultation to ensure their voices are heard. We want to know what the impact the Midlands Rail Hub could have on businesses and specifically if it could lead to more jobs being created and increased growth in the local economy.

“Through providing new chords and platforms in Birmingham, it provides capacity for up to ten additional trains per hour in and out of the city, to locations in the Midlands and beyond.  We are really keen to hear from businesses in Bromsgrove, Nuneaton, Hereford, Worcester and firms throughout the Midlands and all the data given to us by local businesses will be weaved into future work we are submitting to government to help make the case for investment in this nationally critical rail project.”

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The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has now ceased trading and transferred all its functions to Shropshire Council working with Telford & Wrekin Council and Herefordshire Council, in line with the UK Government's plans for devolution.

The Marches LEP was established in 2011 and hands over an impressive legacy from its 13-year life. In that time the LEP invested over £196m in projects across the Marches, securing in excess of £100m of match funding and supported more than 66,000 business interactions.

The schemes supported have made tangible differences to local communities, increasing skills, creating jobs and improving the physical appearance of many towns.

We would like to thank all the LEP Board Members who have given their time freely over the life of the LEP, as well as all the staff who worked for the LEP over the years. We also want to thank our delivery partners, local education providers and local, regional and national stakeholders who helped us achieve so much.

The Marches Growth Hub will continue to support businesses and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford and Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Each of the three Local Authorities will also continue to provide direct business support locally. Details of this support will be available through the Marches Growth Hub website and from the Local Authorities directly. Website: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk | email: enquiries@marchesgrowthhub.co.uk.

The Marches Careers Hub will continue to be delivered and will be managed by Shropshire Council, supported by Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire Councils. Website: www.marchescareershub.co.uk | email: info@marchescareershub.co.uk

For any queries about Getting Building Fund (GBF), Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Marches Investment Fund (MIF) projects supported by the Marches LEP please contact: gary.spence@shropshire.gov.uk

For any finance queries please contact: michelle.hodgkiss@shropshire.gov.uk

The solvent liquidation of the Marches LEP is being managed by the Evelyn Partners Limited. For any matter related to this please contact: Camilla.Mulholland@evelyn.com

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