Hundreds of jobs are created by legacy fund

ALMOST £70 MILLION WAS HANDED OUT IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS

- GURDIP THANDI

A 'REMARKABLE' fund has been hailed after helping create hundreds of jobs and bringing millions of pounds worth of investment to the West Midlands.

Bosses at the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) said the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund had seen almost £70 million distributed in just two years to a number of areas across the region.

The money was 'unspent contingency' cash for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and WMCA successfully persuaded the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DMCS) to allow it to be kept in the region.

Councillors and officers at WMCA then decided how and where the money should go.

In December 2022, WMCA Board agreed that the fund was to be allocated across four thematic pillars relating to economy, trade and tourism (£38.9 million), culture and heritage (£4.07 million), inclusive communities (£20.8 million) and wellbeing and sustainability (£4.07 million).