Birmingham City’s new 60,000 stadium - the latest on Tom Wagner's Blues vision
Tom Wagner set pulses racing on Monday night when he called for improvements to the transport network and Birmingham ’s infrastructure to help him deliver not only Birmingham City’s new 60,000 stadium but an entire Sports Quarter in the east side of the city.
Some interpreted his comments in an interview as the first signs of cold feet, others as political manoeuvring designed to rattle the cages of decision-makers at local and national level.
BirminghamLive Birmingham City podcast Keep Right On spoke to People & Politics reporter Jane Haynes for her take on Wagner’s comments and her findings from a timely discussion with Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker.
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We bring you a transcript of what Jane told Keep Right On.
What are your impressions of Tom Wagner’s comments?
JH: I think this is an excellent lobbying tactic by Tom Wagner. He is clearly a very serious businessman, but I think anybody concerned that he's on the verge of pulling out or that this is some precursor to a big negative announcement, I think you really should not worry.
The reason I say that is that I last night had a conversation with Richard Parker, the mayor of the West Midlands. He holds significant devolved powers (and influence) and is in regular contact with the Government. He is also responsible for helping to draw investment into the region.
He was with Tom Wagner on Monday prior to him giving that interview. What (Parker) has explained to me is that the event they were both at was about attracting more investors to the region. Richard Parker's take on it is that attracting investors like Tom Wagner isn't just about saying to them ‘Come here, create a load of jobs for us’, (which is) all one way.
It is about collectively working together with people like Wagner and other big investors. As he described it to me, it's about sitting down with them, properly welcoming them, understanding what their priorities are and how we as a region can maximise the benefit from their investments. He thinks that hasn't really happened up to now.
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He feels, I think, that Tom Wagner is kind of making the case that he's very impatient to get on with it. He's got £2.5bn to spend in easily one of the most deprived parts of the city, if not the country. I've written extensively about the child poverty levels there and the youth unemployment levels, it really is crying out for investment.
So (Wagner) wants (help) to basically pull everybody together. He is trying, with (the help of) people like the mayor and the city council leader, John Cotton, and the Government to put together a kind of jigsaw of investment to try to transform this part of east Birmingham, which desperately needs it.
The way Richard Parker explained this to me is that because of what Tom Wagner has read and understood about our country's record of delivery – and he cited HS2 as an example – (the record on delivery is not great.) He is very impatient to get on and do what he wants to do. He wants to help.
He wants to be helped to understand how the system works and how he can help remove the time barriers. So his plea on Monday that you're reporting was about really having a clearer sight line of how things work nationally, regionally and locally so he knows where help can come from to deliver the project quickly.
Richard Parker says he's been having discussions with him for some time and told me: ‘We're discussing how we can work with the council and other partners to deliver this project collaboratively’. What he was very clear on was Tom Wagner is a man with massive ambitions and he feels that as a region, we do need to join forces with him.
We do need to give him the support he needs to make the investment in a way that aligns the region's needs to uplift skills, create jobs and all those things with what he wants to get out of it, which is to create this super stadium and Sports Quarter.
Did you feel like that was a little bit of him putting some political pressure on people to get them moving as well?
JH: I think it is, he's part of a multi-billion dollar/pound operation. He's used to things moving quickly. I guess when people like that throw money around, they expect people to react and I think there's certainly been a sense of frustration.
Now what I did learn and which was news to me was that apparently, he is funding some additional planning capacity inside Birmingham City Council with a view to helping speed the process up. Planning notoriously takes a long time in this country. And I think Tom Wagner's come in and said, ‘What's holding things up for us getting to the very detailed planning application stage that we need to be at?’
The council have probably told him ‘We're in a dire financial situation’. It sounds like he said ‘Well, I'm going to pay. I'll pay for some extra planning people to be there so that we can get this moving’.
I would add the caveat that I haven't checked that with the city council, but I've no doubt that Richard Parker is talking from a position of knowledge.
What Richard Parker's also said is that the region does need support. We as a region want this to happen as quickly as possible. He's putting £2.5bn into it. Richard Parker seemed to think that the overall investment could end up being as much as £6bn - I'm not talking about Wagner putting another £4.5bn in but that may be what's required from nationally and regionally to provide the infrastructure and the other things that he's saying are vital parts of this process.
Richard Parker is absolutely adamant he does not think this is Tom Wagner saying ‘I'm going to walk away’. I think it's very much him saying ‘Let's get moving on this. I want to build this stadium. I want to create jobs. You want me to do that. So let's work together and come up with ways to cut through the bureaucracy and the other issues’. And probably get the Government to put some money into the project
How easy is it going to be for Tom Wagner and Birmingham City Council to persuade Keir Starmer and his Government they should be putting a good chunk of their money into this project?
JH: Richard Parker, as mayor, has three big investment zones in his region. None of them are the East Birmingham zone. But what he does have is some devolved powers and funding. But perhaps more importantly, he has the ear of Keir Starmer who has recently set up a Council of Nations and Regions, bringing the Labour mayors together from around the country and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland. He met with them last week for the first meeting.
Richard Parker was there and he said he spoke to the Government about his absolute top priorities, which are investment projects that deliver growth and jobs for the region and for the city. I have no doubt at all that he will be making the case to the Government that they (may) need to make a significant investment for a significant return.
How quickly that will come, I don't know. But I think we'll watch closely to see how things go. I'm pretty certain that everything possible will be done to leverage that £2.5bn out of Tom Wagner and make him happy.
Richard Parker has the ear of Keir Starmer. Tom Wagner has the ear of Richard Parker, so Tom Wagner has a fairly short chain to the movers and shakers that will make this happen?
JH: I absolutely believe that's the case. He’s also closely involved with the city council. It sounds like he's opened all the right doors. Anybody coming to Birmingham and to the region right now with money to spend should be welcomed with open arms and clearly that's what's happening with Tom Wagner.
I would hasten to add I don't think anybody's going to bend over backwards to the point of giving away prime sites or allowing Tom Wagner or anybody else to dictate where any public money is being spent but I think there's definitely a case that we need to all be in this together, we need to see this happen for Birmingham. Tom Wagner wants it to happen, Birmingham City wants it to happen and I think there's just this massive collective will to to get it over the line.