A clear, consistent message has emerged from Savills response to the West Midlands Futures Green Paper: the lack of well-located, high-quality employment land is one of the biggest constraints on growth. Without addressing this, the region risks losing both expanding domestic businesses and global investors to better-prepared competitors.

A shortage holding back ambition

Too many of the employment sites currently available across the region are poorly located, outdated or simply too small to accommodate the scale and modern requirements of major occupiers. This includes R&D businesses, advanced manufacturing, logistics firms and high-growth tech companies, all of which need flexible, high-quality space in the right locations.

When policy relies on historic delivery trends rather than forward-looking need, the result is that strong occupier and investor demand is regularly displaced to other parts of the UK – or abroad.

The West Midlands’ economic vision depends on vibrant growth sectors and expanding businesses, yet the evidence shows these firms often struggle to find suitable “grow-on” space. Start-ups that initially thrive off the back of the region’s universities and innovation clusters frequently stall after three years because they lack affordable, flexible space in accessible locations. Many ultimately relocate – taking investment, intellectual property and skilled jobs with them.

Industrial & logistics: a foundational sector being overlooked

A central theme in our analysis is the critical – and often underestimated – role of the Industrial & Logistics (I&L) sector.

I&L space is not just about warehousing; it underpins almost every part of the modern economy. It enables manufacturers, laboratories, tech firms, service providers and supply-chain businesses to operate efficiently and at scale. More than half of I&L floorspace leased since 2019 has gone to occupiers outside traditional logistics, illustrating its importance to diverse industries.

Yet local plans across the region consistently under-allocate land for I&L uses and this is something that the government recognises needs to change with the proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It suppresses growth, constrains cluster development and undermines the region’s ability to capitalise on its competitive advantage: access to 90% of England’s population within a four-hour drive time.

Well-located I&L sites near major freight corridors, rail networks and urban centres are particularly vital. They allow businesses to reach customers quickly, reduce transport emissions and tap into large labour pools – all factors that matter to international investors making long-term decisions.

A planning system too slow to compete

The current local plan-led system is not responsive enough to market needs. According to data from Savills Economics, only around 20% of planning applications in England are determined within statutory timeframes, slowing the delivery of strategic sites across the West Midlands. This mismatch between demand and supply leaves high-value occupiers with little choice but to look elsewhere.

A more agile, region-wide Spatial Development Strategy is urgently required to identify, prioritise and unlock strategic growth opportunities, including selective green belt or grey belt releases where appropriate. Without bold choices, the region cannot build the pipeline of internationally competitive sites needed to secure inward investment.

The structural shortage of strategic employment land that risks constraining the region’s growth ambitions has been highlighted in the West Midlands Strategic Employment Sites Study (2023/24), which concluded there is a “significant shortfall across the supply portfolio”, with the requirement of 1,920-2,282 hectares (ha) by 2045 well above the 2023 assumed supply of 1,300 ha.

To bridge this, and on top of the road and rail-served sites required by 2045, the study recommends additional rail‑freight enabled locations – plus around 850 ha of further road‑based sites. At the strategic scale (50+ ha), 11-17 sites are needed, yet only one is currently available/offered within the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), implying a requirement to identify a further 10-16 sites. The minimum site size for consideration is typically 25 ha+, for which 22-34 sites are required.

According to the study, market availability is already tight with demand split roughly 30% manufacturing and 70% logistics.

As Opportunity Areas within WMCA are largely limited to Solihull and Coventry, delivering the Spatial Development Strategy will necessitate collaboration with neighbouring non‑constituent authorities to unlock sufficient sites and support economic growth.

The missing link in regional competitiveness

From Coventry to Wolverhampton, the West Midlands has the ingredients for exceptional economic performance: a large talent pool, a youthful population, strong graduate retention and unrivalled connectivity. But without a sufficient supply of modern, strategically located employment land in the right places (near/next to the strategic highway network), and including large and strategic-scale opportunities of 20/25/50 ha+, then these advantages cannot be fully harnessed.

The evidence is unequivocal: delivering the right sites in the right places is the missing link in turning potential into performance.

By planning ambitiously, allocating enough employment land and ensuring sites reflect the needs of tomorrow’s economy, the West Midlands can strengthen its global competitiveness and avoid watching transformative opportunities slip away.

Further information

Contact Michael Davies and Siân Rees