Eleven urban enterprise zones
Author: Allister Hayman, Local Government Chronicle |
Eleven urban areas around the country, including London, have been named as enterprise zones with a further ten to be created following a competitive bidding process, the chancellor has announced.
Delivering the Budget, George Osborne said ten new enterprise zones would be located within local enterprise partnership (LEP) regions covering Birmingham & Solihull; Leeds City Region; Sheffield City Region; Liverpool City Region; Greater Manchester; Greater Bristol; Tees Valley; the North East; the Black Country; and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
He said London would also have an enterprise zone, with the Mayor of London to choose the site. This will be in Newham LBC, covering the Royal Docks area.
Mr Osborne said the exact locations for the new enterprise zones would be announced tomorrow, alongside the launch of a competitive process for other interested LEPs to establish ten more enterprise zones.
As LGC revealed yesterday, there is set to be a limit of one enterprise zone per LEP area to avoid displacement of businesses within local economic areas.
Budget documents said the government would make a range of policy tools available to the 21 enterprise zones, including:
- a 100% business rate discount worth up to 275k over a five-year period for businesses that move into an enterprise zone during the course of this Parliament
- all business rates growth within the zone for a period of at least 25 years will be retained and shared by the local authorities in the LEP area to support theireconomic priorities
- government and local authority help to develop ?radically simplified planning approaches in the zone? and
- government support to ensure superfast broadband is rolled out in the zone. ?This will be achieved through guaranteeing the most supportive planning environment and, if necessary, public funding,? the budget documents said.
In addition, the Budget said the government would work with individual LEPs to consider:
- the scope for introducing enhanced capital allowances to support zones in assisted areas where there is a strong focus on high value manufacturing
- the use of Tax Incremental Finance to support the long-term viability of the zone, in tandem with the Local Government Resource Review and
- UKTI support on inward investment and trade opportunities.The Budget also confirmed the first round of successful Regional Growth Fund bids would be announced ?shortly with the second round of bids launched in April 2011.
Alexandra Jones, chief executive of thinktank Centre for Cities, said if the zones allowed the quick introduction of Tax Increment Financing, ?then this is a good step as it will allow local authorities the ability to borrow to finance important investments for their economy, such as new transport infrastructure?.
She said focusing enterprise zones on LEPS had given the nascent economic development partnerships ?teeth?.
She said: ?The question will be whether these EZs have learned the lessons of the 1980s, where an emphasis on capital allowances did not generate the jobs that we are looking for in 2011?.