Telford promoted as 'ideal location' for car industry

A campaign to promote Telford as a base for the car parts industry has been launched by Telford & Wrekin Council.

The council is writing to thousands of car parts makers promoting the town as an "ideal place with strong transport links and a skilled local workforce".

It said it wanted to capitalise on the building of the new £350m Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) just off the M54 motorway.

Councillor Charles Smith said: "There's no reason why Telford can't become the main supplier for Jaguar Land Rover."

He added: "The development represents a fantastic opportunity for investors as we have some of the best value development land in the country."

Professor David Bailey, an automotive industry expert from Coventry University, said the plan was "feasible", because Telford had "a good track record" for attracting inward investment.

"When the Japanese first came to the UK, Telford attracted a lot of component manufacturers to bring in supply chain work which served the bigger company's assembly lines.

"There are firms already in the town involved in the car industry, and there's a big skills base."