Boeing backs first UK Investment Zone in South Yorkshire
Communities in South Yorkshire are set to benefit from thousands of new jobs and £1.2 billion of investment as part of the UK’s first Advanced Manufacturing Investment Zone backed by…
Communities in South Yorkshire are set to benefit from thousands of new jobs and £1.2 billion of investment as part of the UK’s first Advanced Manufacturing Investment Zone backed by major companies including Boeing.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today hailed the first Advanced Manufacturing Investment Zone in South Yorkshire for bringing opportunity into areas which have traditionally underperformed economically.
Growing the economy, and creating opportunities across the UK, is a priority for the Prime Minister. Twelve Investment Zones will be established across the UK based around a university and clusters of high growth industries like Advanced Manufacturing, life sciences or green industries, will deliver benefits directly to local communities.
South Yorkshire Investment Zone
Building on the area’s strengths, the South Yorkshire Investment Zone is focused on Advanced Manufacturing and includes the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University. It’s expected that the Investment Zone will help leverage more than £1.2bn of private funding and help support more than 8,000 jobs by 2030.
The Chancellor welcomed the first of those investments as he met executives from Boeing at the AMRC’s Factory 2050, a manufacturing technologies research and development facility.
People from Sheffield Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley will see blockers to growth in their area, such as challenges attracting finance and investment, supporting business growth, and clear pathways to higher skilled jobs reduced. They will also benefit from further government funding through the Investment Zone worth up to £80 million.
This could be through potential support for specialist training programmes tailored to industry and support for local businesses in the sector’s supply chains, helping drive more business activity and productivity.
Backed by Boeing
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt: “Our first Investment Zone is a shining example of how we will drive growth across the country.
“It’s already secured more than £80 million of private investment, including backing from Boeing, and will help support more than 8,000 jobs by 2030.”
Today’s announcement of an investment of more than £80 million for a portfolio of Research & Development projects, backed by Boeing, will look at the future of aerospace. Boeing will work with industry partners, Spirit AeroSystems and Loop Technology at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Factory 2050 in Sheffield Business Park.
The project, co-funded by industry and government, including through the Aerospace Technology Institute programme, and with support from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the University of Sheffield, puts the UK at the cutting edge of aviation research, development and manufacturing as demand for commercial aircraft is forecasted to be greater than 40,000 over the next 20 years.
Boeing has a long history in South Yorkshire – its programme can be traced back to the company co-founding the AMRC with the University of Sheffield around 22 years ago. Since then, the AMRC has spawned the advanced manufacturing campus in the former brown-field site including Boeing’s first European factory.
Subscribe to the FINN weekly newsletter
