A bid for Investment Zone status for the West Midlands Gigafactory, and its immediate area, has been submitted to Government. If successful, Investment Zone status will help secure the £2.5bn investment required to deliver the UK’s largest consented gigafactory.

The bid – backed by Coventry City Council – is part of a wider submission made by the West Midlands Combined Authority for a range of Investment Zones across the region capable of accelerating economic growth and delivering tens of thousands of new homes and jobs.

The West Midlands Gigafactory alone could create up to 6,000 new jobs directly, as well as protecting and creating tens of thousands more in the automotive supply chain.

The Zone would not only include the Coventry Airport site, but also adjacent employment land which could support the battery and automotive supply chain. Given the gigafactory site already benefits from outline planning consent, delivery could happen quickly once an investor is secured.
Should the site be selected for Investment Zone status by the Government, it could benefit from intelligent tax incentives and other benefits which will build on an advanced package of local support, making the opportunity even more attractive to international investors.

Leader of Coventry City Council, Cllr George Duggins, said: “The West Midlands Gigafactory project, and its immediate area, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to supercharge UK growth, as well as protect and create tens of thousands of jobs in the automotive and energy storage sectors.

“We have formed a strong partnership to deliver a Gigafactory in Coventry and we have the track record that proves what we can do in the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre adjacent to the gigafactory site.

“By granting Investment Zone status to this existing site, with planning permission attached, it means here in Coventry this is not about ploughing up new areas for speculative investments. It also means Ministers can continue to demonstrate their backing for Coventry and wider West Midlands’ world-leading automotive sector, with intelligent incentives helping to attract a £2.5bn gigafactory investment and create 6,000 new jobs directly.”