The West Midlands is transforming into a high-power haven for entrepreneurs – and Shropshire may be home to a growing number of them, a new study today reveals.

Business enterprise has taken over from manufacturing as the biggest contributor to the West Midlands economy. Real estate, renting and business are generating more wealth than any other activity, according to the report.

The study on Regional Trends was published by the Office of National Statistics.

The region has a proud manufacturing heritage, but the study suggests there is an emerging new workforce determined to take the region into the 21st century.

And many of these young yuppies and business men and women may very well be centred in Telford and Wrekin which the statistics show is continuing to enjoy a population boom – the biggest increase in the region at 29 per cent.

Research shows that less than 17 per cent of the area’s population is of retirement age and about 23 per cent is made of children aged under-16 – suggesting the vast majority of households are made up of young singletons, couples and families.

In comparison, pensioners account for more than 22 per cent of the population across the rest of the Shropshire county, and youngsters aged under 16 about 23 per cent.

Telford MP David Wright said: “Telford will be a major player in the regional economy in the coming years.

“We will see high levels of housing growth and we need to promote new enterprises and our position on the M54 technology corridor means we will be well placed to do that.”

In 2004, 19 per cent of wealth in the West Midlands was generated by manufacturing – still well above the 14 per cent national average, despite a decline in recent years. However, business enterprise, including in real estate and renting, accounted for 22 per cent.

By Sunita Patel