Keele has partnered with Staffordshire County Council in calling on the government to invest £3 million to create highly skilled jobs and better transport links along the A50/A500 route over the next three years.  

The Fifty500 Midlands Growth Corridor is a major road that runs along the A50 and A500 from Crewe to Nottingham.   

It is a hub of economic activity, being home to global businesses and world class universities. It is also a critical transport route, linking the M6 to the M1.   

Led and developed by Staffordshire County Council, the initiative has now reached a point where it needs national funding to be developed further.   

This week, representatives from Keele and the County Council visited Downing Street to call on the government to allocate £3 million to the scheme in the 2024 Spring Budget.  

They went armed with signatures from councils, major businesses and universities along the route demonstrating their support for the initiative. 

The proposal was delivered by the county council’s deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, Philip White, and Ann Pittard, Keele University’s Director of Engagement & Partnerships.  

The Corridor is currently home to one million people and half a million jobs with 41 per cent of its output in manufacturing and distribution.  

If the bid is successful, proposals that are expected to create 5,000 more jobs and add £100 million in gross value added (GVA) by 2030 can be progressed.   

Ann Pittard said: "Fifty 500 has all the ingredients for a sustainable strategic growth corridor, and a strong partnership behind it that includes businesses, local authorities and universities.  We are committed to building the research and innovation capabilities it needs to succeed." 

Staffordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader, Philip White, added: “Our visit to Downing Street is a major milestone in our work to develop the Fifty500 Midlands Growth Corridor.   

“If this bid is successful, together with our partners, we can continue our work to develop business cases around the corridor for new investments that will support our innovative and high growth businesses to create thousands of skilled jobs and generate an additional £100 million for the local economy.     

“This initiative has the potential to deliver on the Government’s aims of levelling up and decarbonising industry and transport whilst increasing productivity and employment in Staffordshire.   

“With the support of major businesses, academic institutions and local authorities along this route, I firmly believe our proposal has every chance of success.”