Staffordshire County Council : Views sought on access options to job boosting business development

People and businesses are being urged to have their say on options to provide access to a major new Staffordshire business development which could create up to 2,500 jobs.

Two public consultation events are taking place this month to inform people of access options to the former ROF Featherstone site in South Staffordshire - which is being brought back into productive use to bring more jobs to the county.

The site sits just north of the M54 between junctions 1 and 2 and between A449 and A460. It's also close to the M6. The site is already attracting significant interest from developers. This would be the latest in a series of sites the county council has supported to attract business investment. New access to the site would be necessary to manage additional traffic. A planning application for the new access option is expected to be submitted this autumn.

The events take place on Tuesday January 24 at Greenfield Golf Club, Cat and Kittens Lane, Wolverhampton WV10 7JB and on Tuesday January 31 at Featherstone Community Centre, Baneberry Drive, Featherstone WV10 7TR. Both events take place between 2pm and 8pm. The consultation ends on Sunday February 12.

People can take part in the consultation and find out more by visiting www.staffordshire.gov.uk/roffeatherstone

Staffordshire County Council's economic growth leader Mark Winnington said:

The former ROF Featherstone site is one of a number we are investing in to encourage businesses to relocate to Staffordshire to create jobs and invest in the local supply chain. It has not been used for a number of years, but is in a prime location to offer businesses a cost-effective base that is close to local transport networks and a skilled workforce. The site has the potential to create up to 2,500 jobs.
'The existing local road network is unlikely to have the capacity to manage any increase in traffic which could cause congestion in the area. Development of the site will mean we need road improvements to manage this additional traffic.
'We are supporting the development of the site and are prepared to part-fund the road infrastructure as an investment to create future jobs and growth.
'Throughout this process we want the local community to be involved. We have identified a number of potential options to provide access to the site and are encouraging people to attend one of two consultation events to let us know their views.'