An artist's impression of the Stafford Western Access Route
An array of business and transport developments will be taking place across Staffordshire in 2020 - paving the way for more job creation, acccording to Staffordshire County Council's Economic Growth Leader.
Staffordshire's major development projects will be gaining pace throughout 2020, helping to invigorate job creation in the area.
Both Stafford and Lichfield will see significant progress on the road building projects, the Stafford Western Access Route (SWAR) and the Lichfield Southern Bypass, which will bring housing, and multi-million-pound business investment to the districts. Construction of both projects (SWAR and Lichfield Southern Bypass) is already well under way, and is set to make landmark progress in 2020.
In addition, development at some of the county’s main business parks, such as i54 South Staffordshire and Kingswood Lakeside, continues - with even more businesses moving to the area
A unit at Kingswood Lakeside
Staffordshire County Council’s Economic Growth Leader, Mark Winnington stated that while near full employment would continue to be an aim for Staffordshire, the focus would remain on creating better paid jobs.
“In 2020 we’re going to see significant progress with our main transport and business construction projects, namely the Stafford Western Access Route, Lichfield southern bypass and i54 South Staffordshire western extension. These projects are vital for future growth, bringing in investment, new homes, jobs and improving connectivity. Working with our partners we will make every effort to ensure that jobs created as a result are of good quality, higher skilled and better paid.”
Latest statistics (December 2019) show that only 2.1% of Staffordshire residents claim out of work benefits - lower than figures at both a regional-level (3.8%) and national (2.9%).