2018
Amanda Milling, Member of Parliament for Cannock Chase, has called for regeneration plans for Rugeley to be "ambitious, bold and visionary".
The Cannock Chase MP has highlighted the once in a generation opportunity to develop an ambitious new future for Rugeley, which will attract businesses who will create highly skilled jobs for future generations.
The Cannock Chase MP has frequently raised the need to get the redevelopment of the Rugeley B Power Station site right. It is a large strategic site which has excellent existing infrastructure - transport, National Grid and fibre optic broadband connectivity.
This means the site lends itself to a broad range of uses and Amanda Milling is calling on all bodies involved in the planning of the redevelopment to be ambitious and create plans that will attract innovative, high tech and digital businesses.
As well as the power station site several other sites will become available in Rugeley in the coming years, offering significant redevelopment land across Rugeley. The Cannock Chase MP wants all sites to be looked at together to ensure the best possible plan for Rugeley can be developed.
Amanda Milling said: “You only need to look at i54 to see what can be achieved in terms of attracting global brands that create highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships. The redevelopment of the power station site and other sites that will become available in Rugeley over the next couple of years is a once in a generation opportunity to develop and implement a strategic plan that will attract the businesses of the future. Attracting innovative, high tech and digital businesses will be key to providing highly skilled jobs and opportunities for future generations. But to do this we need to be ambitious, bold and visionary. There is a great danger that we fall into a trap of just doing “more of the same” and that would be a complete failure for future generations. Rugeley has excellent infrastructure - road, rail, broadband and grid connectivity - which we must make the most of."
Adding "The governments Industrial Strategy will help create the framework and conditions for the regions, and in our case, Cannock Chase and, more specifically, Rugeley, to plan for developing a sustainable local economy, one which creates highly skilled jobs and therefore opportunities and prosperity for future generations. I believe that it is essential that we work together nationally, regionally and locally to implement a strategic and visionary plan which takes account of the growth in new industries and technologies, and sectors of growth. If don't it would be a tragic failure for future generations.”
The Cannock Chase MP recently spoke in detail about the role that the Government plans could play in developing a strategic framework for Rugeley in a debate about Industrial Strategy. As a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee she has been looking at the policy area closely as part of the committee's inquiry into Industrial Strategy, specifically the role it can play in terms of supporting the Midland’s economy. The Cannock Chase MP has written to all local authorities and public bodies urging them to develop and implement a strategic and visionary redevelopment plan for Rugeley.
