The Rural Regeneration Zone, a key Advantage West Midlands delivery mechanism, is the only one of its kind in England. It is one of Advantage West Midlands’ six regeneration zones, but unlike the others it is not based in an urban area. The Zone area covers nearly all Herefordshire, most of Shropshire and some of Worcestershire.
Although the rural west of the West Midlands region enjoys a fairly high level of economic activity and low unemployment, it has largely been a low-wage, low-skill economy based on declining industries. While that is now beginning to change, many of the Zone’s young people still feel the need to leave the area in order to further their employment or educational goals. Allied to this the Zone also faces significant social challenges and difficulties in terms of access to services and opportunities along with the shortage of affordable housing.
The Zone is now delivering, with partners, projects and programmes that are tackling some of these challenges. An economic environment that attracts high-technology, knowledge-based jobs is being created, and the Zone’s existing and future workforce is being helped to improve their skills, so that they can take advantage of the changes.