The Midlands Engine is getting a small but significant transport boost
The Northern Powerhouse may be clinging on for survival at the moment, but its trendier, younger cousin, the Midlands Engine, has received quite a bit of attention lately.
Not only has it received public support from Theresa May and a great deal of talking-up from John Lewis boss and wannabe Birmingham mayor Andy Street – but today it was given a small but significant boost, in the form of £12m transport funding from transport secretary Chris Grayling.
Midlands Connect, a partnership between local authorities and enterprise which works with the Department for Transport and local transport operators to identify investment priorities, will have funding guaranteed for three years, it said today.
Grayling said today the Midlands is worth more than £220bn.
"Midlands connect is making great progress to build evidence of the region's transport needs and help make the Midlands an engine for growth," he said.
Street added: "Transport and connectivity within the region and outside the region is key to our success, the Midlands Engine is helping to find effective ways of delivering the changes we need."