The economic benefits of HS2 on Staffordshire will be "immense" and "transformational" for its towns, an Insider event has heard.
The £106bn rail link will run through the county on its way from London to the North, with a hub in Stafford.
The project will be a catalyst for growth in the county, Sara Williams, chief executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, told the Staffordshire: Renewing and Investing in its Towns online forum, held on 12 October.
"HS2 will not only create jobs in Staffordshire but a huge range of opportunities," she said. "It will be a catalyst for the transformation of our towns."
However, Philip White, deputy leader of Staffordshire County Council, said the transport project was a "double edged sword" for Staffordshire, bringing disruption to those living along the line without any benefits.
"But HS2 is coming so we need to increase the benefits," he said. "The ease of connection from the hub at Stafford with Manchester, Birmingham and London will be transformational for the county.
"Staffordshire will be transformed, its brilliant assets revealed. There will be a lot more to tell the world in the next 12 months."
Phase one of HS2 will travel from Birmingham to east of Lichfield, while phase 2a – due to be completed by around 2033 – will continue north to Crewe.
"There's almost no better placed, beautiful, lower cost and better connected county than Staffordshire: put a map on the dartboard and Staffs would be the bullseye," added White.
Meanwhile, the new £5.8m Centre for Health Innovation at Staffordshire University's Stafford campus, due to open in December, will help create a healthcare cluster, said Emily Browne, the university’s associate dean for innovation and enterprise. The campus specialises in courses for nursing, paramedics and midwifery, producing around 600 graduates per year.
"We want to work with people with great Dragons' Den ideas for healthcare, and bring those ideas to fruition," said Browne.
Williams also said she wanted Staffordshire to lead on another key area of innovation – sustainable transport.
"There is an opportunity for Staffordshire’s towns to lead on the electric car issue, such as Rugeley which is leading on the sustainability debate," she said.
There are plans to turn an old coal power station in the town into a sustainable village of 2,000 homes powered by solar panels.
"We also need a far better integrated transport system to bring life, particularly night life, to our town centres," added Williams.
The forum also heard about a £23m package to improve the future of Burton upon Trent as part of the government’s £3.6bn Towns Fund, as well as funding programmes for Tamworth, Lichfield and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
But the regeneration of the county's towns should not just be about short-term targets: there should also be a long-term vision, said Ben Robinson, chair of both Burton Albion Football Club and the Burton upon Trent Town Deal.
"It's important to listen to the views, ambitions and ideas of the young people of Staffordshire and communicate them to business leaders," he said. "We want to be the intellectual hub of the region and deliver on ambition."
Catch up on the discussion: click here.