A regeneration plan worth £750m has been announced for Longbridge in Birmingham, on the site of the old MG Rover car factory.

After three years of standing empty the site will eventually be home to a new town centre for Longbridge including approximately 2,000 new homes, Bourneville College and three parks. Nanjing Automotive also plans to restart car production in what remains of the car plant during August. The investment is part of the Longbridge Area Action Plan, which will help to create 10,000 new jobs over the next 15 years.

The announcement will be welcomed by former workers of the MG Rover factory, who had raised concerns regarding how long it was taking for redevelopment to begin and new jobs to be created.

Planning applications have been submitted to Birmingham City Council and Bromsgrove District Council by property developer St Modwins and Advantage West Midlands, a regional development agency. A public hearing is set for late summer with approval from the secretary of state hopefully following sometime in the autumn.

Alan Turner, project team leader told PIN: “The total timescale for the development is about fifteen years. Regeneration has already started at the site with house building set to begin soon after planning approval is gained. The houses should be completed in five years.”