Gateway plan to bring 'thousands of jobs'

PLANS for a major development in district which could create up to 10,000 jobs have this week been submitted to Warwick District Council.

The £250 million Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway scheme at Baginton includes a new technology hub on land north of Coventry Airport, and a manufacturing/logistics hub to the south.

The Gateway has been earmarked by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as the most suitable location to boost the local and regional economy and The Highways Agency has also factored the Gateway into its improvement scheme to the nearby Tollbar junction, which currently suffers severe congestion.

David Keir of The Coventry and Warwickshire Development Partnership – the joint venture company behind the Gateway scheme – said the plans were being submitted after a lengthy consultation.

He said: “We have spent the past few months having extensive meetings with the local community, parish councils, key stakeholders, representative bodies and other interest groups, explaining our plans in detail and listening to their views.

“We have made a number of alterations to the scheme to meet some of the needs and views expressed and we are extremely pleased with the outcome.

“We believe Gateway offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop this area in a measured and strategic way to maximise benefit to the local and regional economy, create a very large number of jobs and at the same time help improve local infrastructure.

“The Gateway scheme is in a great location for Warwickshire, Coventry and the wider region and we believe it will really build on the strengths of the sub-regional economy and would help it develop further.

“We have had a very good reaction to the plans and already have some firm interest shown by a number of businesses. We have worked closely with local authorities and the LEP to ensure that all our priorities are aligned and believe we have succeeded in that.”

The new technology hub has been designed to appeal to high tech companies in automotive, aerospace and digital technologies. It could help to create up to 4,000 jobs.

The manufacturing and logistics park on land to the south of the airport, which is currently used as a sewage works, would see up to 6,000 people employed in manufacturing and logistics.

Plans are expected to be considered by Warwick District Council towards the end of the year.

A council spokesman said: "This is a major potential development within Warwick district, and the council will now be closely examining all of the extensive technical information that the applicant has submitted in support of the application.

"It will also be consulting widely on the application, before the council’s planning committee formally considers it."

Developers hope construction could start as early as next year.

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