Budget concerns over city's planned gigafactory

Business leader Sarah Windrum thought the Budget "lack ambition"

There was no mention of Coventry's planned gigafactory in the chancellor's budget, despite a promise of investment in green industries.

Warwickshire business leader Sarah Windrum said the budget "lacked ambition", adding she was surprised not to see anything about investment zones or freeports.

The proposed gigafactory, earmarked for land near Coventry Airport, would manufacture batteries for electric vehicles but is yet to secure an investor.

Delivering Labour's first budget in 15 years, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves said a newly created national wealth fund would spur investment and build new infrastructure to the tune of £70bn.

This, she confirmed, would mean money for "industries of the future from gigafactories to ports to green hydrogen".

But Ms Windrum, from the MIRA Technology Park in Nuneaton, noted there was no reference to the local project.

"We've got the gigafactory coming in Somerset for JLR and the investment made there and we've got the Nissan site in the north east," she said.

"But there was no specific mention of a gigafactory in the West Midlands."

There was no mention of the local project in the chancellor's Budget

While noting the money had been announced previously, Ms Windrum praised a £2bn fund in the Budget for the automotive industry which she said would benefit the West Midlands.

But she was left unimpressed overall, saying: "I felt the Budget lacked a little bit of ambition.

"There was a big commitment to public spending which I think was really important but from a business perspective there wasn't really that sense of ambition of how we're going to grow the economy and what our strengths are going to be globally."

The West Midlands' Labour mayor Richard Parker said people in the region would benefit from the Budget

But the West Midlands' Labour mayor Richard Parker insisted the budget would help deliver for people in the region.

Asked if the fiscal event made him more confident Coventry's gigafactory would go ahead, he said discussions with investors and the government were ongoing.

"I’m committed to supporting the city council and our universities in developing those sites in the region and we hope to attract major investment," he said.

"That major investment will be around new major battery driven industries and we plan for those industries to deliver 30,000 jobs.”