Tram link 'a moment of great opportunity'

DETAILS OF £1bn EAST BIRMINGHAM LINE REVEALED AFTER WEEKS OF LOBBYING

- STAFF REPORTER

A 'LIFE transforming' £1 billion proposal to build a tram line into East Birmingham and on to north Solihull can finally be revealed today after weeks of high level negotiations.

The new Metro line would whiz passengers out of the city centre through Digbeth to a new £2.9 billion Blues super-stadium and sports quarter in Bordesley Green then continue on to Heartlands Hospital, the NEC, Birmingham Airport and the HS2 interchange and proposed health and science campus at Arden Cross.

It’s a transformative vision that has been sold to senior Government figures, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, as 'a moment of great opportunity' for an area rich in potential but lacking in jobs and crippled by some of the highest child poverty rates in the country.

It's been described as a nationally significant project comparable to building a new runway at Heathrow.

Ministers have been personally lobbied for weeks by West Midlands mayor Richard Parker and American investor Tom Wagner, CEO of Blues' owners Knighthead.

Today, we can exclusively reveal the details of the proposal as the Government are urged to give it the green light and deliver the funds to kickstart it.