£200m for homes as major development takes shape

Andy Street on the Longbridge development site

A pot of £200m will be made available for developers to build 12,000 new homes on brownfield land across the West Midlands.

The region's combined authority said it was pledging the funds to make use of former industrial land, with at least 2,400 new dwellings set to be affordable homes.

A "brownfield first" programme put forward by mayor Andy Street includes the development of the West Works site in Longbridge where Austin and MG Rover once produced cars.

Mr Street pledged the extra cash on a visit to see how work was progressing,

"The derelict Longbridge site was always a stark and painful reminder of how far the West Midlands had fallen during the so-called ‘boom years’ as the rest of the country surged forward," he said.

“But standing on the iconic site now when so much life has been breathed back into it shows just how far we have come in recent years."

Mr Street said the West Works site was just the beginning and he wanted to make use of even more sites.

"It is a wonderful example of this region’s undefeatable spirit and its ability to roll up its sleeves and bounce back," he added.