Andy Burnham’s pledge to the country is “good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart”. What does this look like in practice? The answer lies in the economic success stories of British companies – small, medium and large – across the UK and building on these successes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Each week, Paul Dimoldenberg looks at economic news from across the country to identify what “good growth” looks like in a diverse set of local communities to deliver the much-needed economic growth to power the economy and deliver new jobs, increased wealth and additional tax revenues to pay for improved public services. This week we feature:
- Opening of Rheinmetall Gun Hall in Telford (TF1)
- £1billion investment in 29 new battery-electric trains in Derby (DE24)
- Centre of Excellence in AI and Robotics launched in Sheffield (S1)
- Fylde wind farms with potential to power 2 million homes approved (FY8 and PR4)
- Singular Photonics launches cutting-edge image sensor in Edinburgh (EH4)
- Processing operations commence at Devon tungsten and tin mine (PL7)
- Yorkshire construction skills network launches (LS2)
Telford: Opening of Rheinmetall Gun Hall in Telford (TF1)
The opening of Rheinmetall’s new UK Gun Hall in Telford is a major boost for jobs, skills and Telford’s growing reputation as a national centre for defence manufacturing. The new facility at Hadley Castle Works will manufacture 120mm and 155mm weapon systems, including those supporting the Challenger 3 programme and future artillery platforms, and marks the return of large-calibre gun barrel production to the UK.
The investment has already created new jobs in Telford and is expected to support around 100 roles at the site as production ramps up, alongside hundreds more jobs throughout the wider supply chain. The opening of the UK Gun Hall also follows Government investment announced earlier this year, which will see Telford College help train the next generation of defence workers through the Defence Technical Excellence Colleges programme. The initiative will expand defence-related education and training, helping ensure local people can access the specialist skills required by the sector.
Derby: £1 billion investment into 29 new battery-electric trains (DE24)
The Government is investing £1 billion in 29 new battery-electric trains for the TransPennine Express fleet which will be built at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby, supporting more than 350 jobs locally and almost 6,000 across the UK supply chain. The new trains will cut journey times by up to ten minutes between Manchester and Leeds and up to 14 minutes between Manchester and York, and could boost capacity by 30 per cent across the Pennines by the mid-2030s.
The Adessia Stream trains, the first battery-electric models to be used for long-distance main line services in the UK, are due to be built from 2028 and enter service from the end of 2034. They will run on routes between Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough, Manchester Airport and Saltburn, and Manchester Piccadilly and Hull. The Prime Minister said: “These 29 new trains will bring faster, more reliable journeys to the North, and thousands of British jobs for the next generation.”
Sheffield: Centre of Excellence in AI and Robotics launched (S1)
Sheffield Hallam University has launched a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, bringing together academic expertise, industry and public sector partners. The centre aims to drive ethical, inclusive and human-centred research and innovation across areas including healthcare, advanced manufacturing and public services. The centre will be led by Alessandro Di Nuovo, Professor of Machine Intelligence at Sheffield Hallam University, and will draw together academic expertise from across the university alongside industry and public sector partners.
Several pioneering projects are already underway:
- The PRIMI project, which has enabled researchers to develop socially interactive autonomous robots using technology inspired by the human brain. The project aims to improve social interaction and support the rehabilitation of stroke survivors.
- Another project is developing an artificial “mind” for robots that learns and develops in a similar way to a child’s brain. The research aims to create robots capable of reasoning, interacting and adapting more naturally.
Beyond robotics, the research could also help scientists better understand how the human brain develops, potentially providing new insights into neurological and learning disorders and supporting the development of future treatments. The centre will sit in the university’s College of Business Technology and Engineering.
Fylde: Wind farms with potential to power 2 million homes approved (FY8 and PR4)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has granted development consent orders for onshore infrastructure in Fylde for the Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind farms, which are due to be built in the East Irish Sea. Combined, the wind farms are expected to generate 2GW of electricity, which is estimated to be enough to power 2 million homes. The wind farms themselves secured planning in August of last year.
This application focused on the transmission assets for the wind farms: export cable circuits reaching landfall at Lytham St Annes; transition joint bays by Blackpool Airport to connect offshore cables to their onshore counterparts; two onshore substations; and 400KV underground export cable circuits connecting those substations to the National Grid Penwortham substation.
Edinburgh: Singular Photonics launches cutting-edge image sensor (EH4)
Edinburgh semiconductor company Singular Photonics has launched a new type of image sensor designed to capture and process light faster than conventional sensors, opening up possibilities for robotics, medical imaging and scientific research. Litavis is the world’s first single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensor to combine several advanced imaging and measurement capabilities with in-pixel processing on a single chip. SPAD sensors can detect individual photons – the smallest units of light – making them extremely sensitive and allowing them to capture information that conventional image sensors cannot easily detect.
Rather than just detecting photons and sending large amounts of raw data elsewhere for processing, Litavis can analyse information directly within the sensor itself. This means imaging systems can respond more quickly, transfer less data and potentially use less power. It also allows the same sensor to be configured through software for different types of imaging, rather than requiring developers to create new hardware for every application.
Devon: Processing operations commence at Devon tungsten and tin mine (PL7)
The Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon has commenced production. Hemerdon is one of the world’s largest known tungsten deposits and represents a strategically important domestic source of tungsten, supporting the development of secure UK and Western supply chains for critical minerals. Tungsten is used extensively across a range of industries, including aerospace, clean energy, manufacturing of chips and semiconductors, automotive, defence and industrial applications.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds MP said: “Tungsten West is a great success story for Devon and demonstrates our vision to drive growth in every postcode and the reindustrialisation we need for good jobs across the UK. Less than two weeks after announcing £71 million from the National Wealth Fund to restart operations, Hemerdon mine is already helping to create jobs, increase productivity and drive growth across the South West.”
Leeds: Yorkshire construction skills network launches (LS2)
A regional network of 23 colleges, led by Leeds College of Building, will tackle iskills shortages across the construction industry in Yorkshire and the Humber. The network will share expertise and resources, raise teaching standards and widen access to construction training across the region. It will focus on high-demand trades including bricklaying, carpentry, roofing, and electrical work, with the aim of supporting major infrastructure, housing, retrofit, and net zero projects.
According to the Construction Industry Training Board, the UK construction industry will require more than 41,000 additional workers every year – around 206,000 over the next five years – to meet baseline demand. Leeds College of Building has already begun renovating a newly acquired building adjacent to the college’s North Street Campus. The 55,000 sq ft site on Melbourne Street in Leeds increases the size of LCB’s estate by a third and will support the CTEC mission to train up to 40,000 more people in high-demand construction trades by 2029.