A grant worth over £16 million from the European Regional Development Fund that will help support West Midlands companies looking to capitalise on HS2 has been accepted by Birmingham City Council’s cabinet.

It is claimed that the cash injection could help to bring 1,300 jobs to the region. The grant will support the creation of a Business Growth Programme across the Greater Birmingham and Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire and the Marches local enterprise partnership (LEP) regions.